Next weekend, Lt. Governor Byron Mallott and I will kick off a series of conversations about the future of our state.

The essence of these conversations is: What do we want our state to look like? What services do we want our government to provide? How will we pay for those services?

As most of you know, the price of oil fell precipitously over the past year, and with it, Alaska's biggest source of revenue. Alaska's budget for the coming year proposes to spend $5 billion in state general funds. We expect to receive only $2 billion in general fund revenue. That leaves a gap of $3 billion....