This should be the year state policymakers start to revamp the state’s property tax structure. We know that the system is unfair, and there is a clear path forward to fix it. Current property taxes are unfair in a number of ways. Owners of properties with the same fair market value pay vastly different property taxes based on which town they are in. Owners also pay very different taxes for the same level of local public services. Residents often receive very different levels of local public services for the same level of taxes paid.

Nearly a year ago, our state was confronted by an act of confounding evil. For many of us, the emotions we felt that day and in the days after are still raw, as if the events at Sandy Hook Elementary School happened only a moment ago. Of course, no one feels this more than the families and friends who lost a loved one that terrible day.

The General Assembly’s Appropriations and Finance Committees recently met to hear annual budget forecasts from both the governor’s budget office (OPM) and the legislature’s nonpartisan budget office (OFA). Certain disparities between their projections were striking. While both agencies project substantial deficits for the next biennium, their projections differ by a vastly greater margin than ever before.

It appears that very few members of the military-veteran community or the general public are aware of problems still faced by veterans of the Vietnam War. Nearly half the surviving 100,000 members of the U.S. Navy and Fleet Marines who fought in Vietnam between 1962 and 1975 may be suffering disabilities from the effects of Agent Orange/dioxin. Yet, these veterans are being denied all service-connected health care and disability compensation for these diseases.

People in juvenile justice sometimes say: “If only we could get rid of poverty and racism, our work would be done.” It’s a recognition that the root causes of the horrible problems at-risk kids face are evils that have been with us for all of human history and show no sign of abating. It’s a statement of resignation. I hate resignation.

September marked 50 years since the terrorist firebombing of a Birmingham church killed four girls. Summer saw the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. November marks 75 years since Kristallnacht and 50 since President Kennedy’s assassination; December, 100 years of the Federal Reserve. Studying history, we can recognize context, sharpen thinking and learn humility. We can inspire and caution young people. History can contribute to citizenship, to reading and writing skills.