The Best and Worst Policy of 2012

Commentary World

The Best and Worst Policy of 2012

January 04, 2013

The Century Foundation fellows discuss the best and worst public policy issues and decisions of 2012:

Best and Worst News in Health Policy: 2012 by Harold Pollack

The Best and the Worst in National Security: 2012 by Michael Cohen

Lessons from the Great Recession: Best and Worst Monetary Policy of 2012 by Mark Thoma.

Labor Becomes Part of the National Conversation: The Best and Worst of 2012 by Amy Dean.

Developments in Tax Policy: The 2012 Edition by Edward Kleinbard.

Best Fiscal Policy Development of 2012? The Half-triumph of Keynesianism over Austerity by Andrew Fieldhouse.

2012 Was a Year of Confirmations by Daniel Alpert.

The Best and Worst in Education and Labor: 2012 by Richard Kahlenberg

Best of Worst in Labor: 2012 By Moshe Marvit

Best and Worst Developments in American Foreign Policy in 2012 by Stephen Schlesinger

About TCF Social Insurance

Laura Haltzel, Leading Retirement Security Expert, Joins TCF as Senior Fellow

On 1 January, children stand in the entryway of their tent shelter, in the Bab Al Salame camp for internally displaced persons, near the border with Turkey, in Aleppo Governorate. A muddy and puddled walkway separates their tent from those of their neighbours. Laundry has been hung to dry nearby. Keeping clothing clean and dry has been a major challenge for residents. Residents have also expressed concern that hygiene conditions in the camp are worsening, increasing the risk of disease.

In early January 2014 in the Syrian Arab Republic, the ongoing conflict has affected some 9.3 million people. Of these, 6.5 million have been displaced internally. Syrians have also fled abroad, with more than 2.3 million people registered or awaiting registration with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. UNICEF support in the Syrian Arab Republic includes the distribution of clothing and other supplies to help keep children and their families healthy and warm during the winter; a polio vaccination campaign; the provision of primary health care services via both mobile medical teams and fixed centres; initiatives in water, sanitation and hygiene, including efforts to ensure continuous access to safe water in conflict-prone areas; the distribution of school supplies; and the provision of psychosocial support services for children and adolescents. United Nations agencies, including UNICEF, have appealed for US$6.5 billion to cover responses within the Syrian Arab Republic and host countries between January and December 2014. The appeal includes some US$2.3 billion for the 2014 Syrian Arab Republic Humanitarian Assistance Response Plan led by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to aid people inside Syria and US$4.2 billion for the UNHCR-led Syria Regional Response Plan to aid refugees and host communities.

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