The official account of the advisory panel formed by Presi-dent George W. Bush to identify major problems in the U.S.Federal Tax Code and to recommend options to make the codesimpler, fairer and more conducive to economic growth. Thepanel's report was submitted to U.S. Secretary of the Trea-sury John W. Snow on Nov. 1, 2005. Chaired by Connie MackIII, the panel recommended 2 reform options: the SimplifiedIncome Tax Plan & the Growth & Investment Tax Plan.

Public policy making -- Communication in the process -- Definition : frame the problem -- Legislative history : know the record -- Position paper : know the arguments -- Petitions and proposals : request action or propose policy -- Briefing memo or opinion statement : inform policy makers -- Testimony : witness in a public hearing -- Written public comment : influence administration -- Continuity and change.

Get heard by being clear and concise The only way to survive in business today is to be a lean communicator. Busy executives expect you to respect and manage their time more effectively than ever. You need to do the groundwork to make your message tight and to the point. The average professional receives 304 emails per week and checks their smartphones 36 times an hour and 38 hours a week. This inattention has spread to every part of life. The average attention span has shrunk from 12 seconds in 2000 to eight in 2012. So, throw them a lifeline and be brief. Author Joe McCormack tackles the challenges of inattention, interruptions, and impatience that every professional faces. His proven B.R.I.E.F. approach, which stands for Background, Relevance, Information, Ending, and Follow up, helps simplify and clarify complex communication. BRIEF will help you summarize lengthy information, tell a short story, harness the power of infographics and videos, and turn monologue presentations into controlled conversations. Details the B.R.I.E.F. approach to distilling your message into a brief presentation Written by the founder and CEO of Sheffield Marketing Partners, which specializes in message and narrative development, who is also a recognized expert in Narrative Mapping, a technique that helps clients achieve a clearer and more concise message Long story short: BRIEF will help you gain the muscle you need to eliminate wasteful words and stand out from the rest. Be better. Be brief.

Every president has had a unique and complicated relationship with the intelligence community. While some have been coolly distant, even adversarial, others have found their intelligence agencies to be among the most valuable instruments of policy and power. Since John F. Kennedy's presidency, this relationship has been distilled into a personalized daily report: a short summary of what the intelligence apparatus considers the most crucial information for the president to know that day about global threats and opportunities. This top-secret document is known as the President's Daily Brief, or, within national security circles, simply "the Book." Presidents have spent anywhere from a few moments (Richard Nixon) to a healthy part of their day (George W. Bush) consumed by its contents; some (Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush) consider it far and away the most important document they saw on a regular basis while commander in chief. The details of most PDBs are highly classified, and will remain so for many years. But the process by which the intelligence community develops and presents the Book is a fascinating look into the operation of power at the highest levels. David Priess, a former intelligence officer and daily briefer, has interviewed every living president and vice president as well as more than one hundred others intimately involved with the production and delivery of the president's book of secrets. He offers an unprecedented window into the decision making of every president from Kennedy to Obama, with many character-rich stories revealed here for the first time.

A thoroughly updated and expanded guide to honing your public policy writing skills—and making a significant impact on the world. Winner of the George Orwell Award by the National Council of Teachers of English Professionals across a variety of disciplines need to write about public policy in a manner that inspires action and genuine change. You may have amazing ideas about how to improve the world, but if you aren't able to communicate these ideas well, they simply won't become a reality. In Public Policy Writing That Matters, communications expert David Chrisinger, who directs the Harris Writing Program at the University of Chicago and worked in the US Government Accountability Office for a decade, argues that public policy writing is most persuasive when it tells clear, concrete stories about people doing things. Combining helpful hints and cautionary tales with writing exercises and excerpts from sample policy analysis, Chrisinger teaches readers to craft concise, story-driven pieces that exceed the stylistic requirements and limitations of traditional policy writing. Aimed at helping students and professionals overcome their default impulses to merely "explain," this book reveals proven tips—tested in the real world and in the classroom—for writing sophisticated policy analysis that is also easy to understand. For anyone interested in planning, organizing, developing, writing, and revising accessible public policy, Chrisinger offers a step-by-step guide that covers everything from the most effective use of data visualization to the best ways to write a sentence, from the ideal moment for adding a compelling anecdote to advice on using facts to strengthen an argument. This second edition addresses the current political climate and touches on policy changes that have occurred since the book was originally published. A vital tool for any policy writer or analyst, Public Policy Writing That Matters is a book for everyone passionate about using writing to effect real and lasting change.

In this book the authors explore the state of the art on efficiency measurement in health systems and international experts offer insights into the pitfalls and potential associated with various measurement techniques. The authors show that: - The core idea of efficiency is easy to understand in principle - maximizing valued outputs relative to inputs, but is often difficult to make operational in real-life situations - There have been numerous advances in data collection and availability, as well as innovative methodological approaches that give valuable insights into how efficiently health care is delivered - Our simple analytical framework can facilitate the development and interpretation of efficiency indicators.

Climate change is a significant and growing threat to food security—already affecting vulnerable populations in many developing countries, and expected to affect ever more people in more places, unless action is taken beginning today. Current scenarios for business-as-usual farming under climate change project growing food security challenges by 2050. Worst hit will be underdeveloped regions of the world where food insecurity is already a problem and populations are vulnerable to shocks (Rosegrant et al. 2014). Improvements in agricultural technology and management are expected to increase food security, but if we do not address climate change, climate-related losses in crop and livestock productivity will reduce those gains (Lobell and Gourdji 2012). In this challenging environment, countries will need to contend with shifts in which crops they can best produce, significant changes in global prices, and change in countries’ comparative advantages. New analytical tools that allow policy makers and decision makers to integrate data from the global to the local level offer an important opportunity for countries to identify the most effective ways to address climate change. As the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) gets underway and the role of agriculture as a key element in reducing emissions is widely recognized, countries can use these tools to identify locally appropriate policies that will reduce the impact of climate change on food security over the long term.