Stories like this one must make Republican legislators laugh with the satisfaction of a job well done: 

“My taxes are going up 10 percent … outrageous for what I live in,” [a resident] told Ramsey County commissioners at a truth-in-taxation hearing a couple of weeks ago. “There’s just no way that you can continue to increase the spending and expect the taxpayers to pick up the difference on it. It’s too much and we’ve got to cut it down all the way from the top. You’re the problem.”

This is exactly what they wanted. They eliminated the Market Value Homestead Credit, forcing property taxes up. Then, they slashed state aid for cities and counties. Now, furious residents are demanding to know why their property taxes are increasing, even as local governments desperately need to replace lost revenue from state aid.

Our cities and counties aren’t to blame for the property tax increases, but that’s difficult to see. For most people, it looks like their local governments are to blame. And that’s exactly what the MNGOP wanted.