GOVT- Exam VIII

About how much of annual federal spending goes to pay interest on the national debt?

$300 billion

The social insurance program Social Security was established in the

1930's

When was the last time the U.S. government had a balanced budget?

1970's

The economic boom that followed the end of World War II saw incomes rise for most families in the United States. In what decade did this phenomenon come to an end?

1970s

The highest rate of inflation (13 percent) since World War II occurred in ________.

1979

According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study, about ________ of Medicare spending is for expenses other than patient care, while some private insurance companies spend about ________ on similar nonpatient expenses.

2 percent; 20 percent

________ was terminated in 1996.

AFDC

To what was political scientist Robert Lane referring when using the term market justice?

Americans prefer that society's material benefits be allocated through the economic marketplace rather than through government policies.

Which country has the highest annual emissions of carbon dioxide?

China

The ________ established minimum wages.

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

Which president's use of government policy as economic stimulus ushered in the modern era of U.S. government fiscal policy?

Franklin Roosevelt

Who was appointed Fed chair in 2018?

Jerome Powell

Which of the following statements is true?

Keynes advocated government spending to counteract an economic downturn

________ orchestrated the enaction of the largest set of antipoverty programs in the nation's history.

Lyndon Johnson

Which of the following is a social insurance program?

Medicare

Medicare was enacted into law during the administration of

None of these answers is correct.

The term means test refers to

None of these answers is correct.

Which of the following is true of the climate change issue?

Scientists theorize that the use of carbon-based fuels is most responsible for temperature rises.

Overall, child poverty rates are highest in the

South

________ is an example of an in-kind benefit.

The Food Stamps program

Why are social security and Medicare considered highly efficient programs?

They do not require a large bureaucracy to administer them.

Of the following countries, which has done the least to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

United States

What was a major change brought about by the National Labor Relations Act of 1935?

Workers were given the right to bargain collectively.

Which of the following government agencies regulates various aspects of business operations?

all of these: the Federal Trade Commission; the Interstate Commerce Commission; and the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department

The Tennessee Valley Authority is

an electricity industry owned by the United States.

Charter schools

are publicly funded but have more freedom in determining curricula than public schools.

The total amount of money the federal government spends each year in excess of its yearly revenues is the

budget deficit.

The best predictor of how well schools perform on standardized tests is the

community's wealth.

U.S. job growth since the 1970s has mostly occurred in which area(s)?

construction and agriculture

A fiscal policy solution to inflation would be to

decrease government spending

If the Fed wanted to act to reduce unemployment, it would

decrease the interest rate on loans to member banks.

Advocates of deregulation are primarily concerned with

efficiency

Passed in 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Act

empowers government to more closely oversee financial activities.

Public assistance programs are funded through

general tax revenues.

In John Maynard Keynes's demand-side economic theory, an economic recession can be shortened through

government spending programs.

The $787 billion stimulus bill passed by Congress in 2009

had almost no Republican support.

If the economic problem is low productivity and high unemployment, the fiscal policy action on the demand side would be to

increase spending.

Keynesian economics emphasizes ________ as a means of curtailing economic downturns.

increased government spending

Democrats in Washington have usually responded to high levels of unemployment with

increased government spending.

The Federal Reserve controls the money supply through all of the following actions EXCEPT

lowering the tax rate on individuals.

Government benefits for business include all of the following EXCEPT

minimum-wage laws

The Federal Reserve plays a large part in establishing ________ policy.

monetary

The Federal Reserve System

none of these are correct

Farm subsidies account for approximately ________ of net agricultural income, making America's farmers among the most heavily subsidized in the world.

one-fifth

The creation of the Food and Drug Administration and the passage of the Securities and Exchange Act were intended to

promote equity in the economy.

The Fed is directed by a board of governors whose seven members

serve for 14 years.

The Fed chair

serves a four-year term.

Poverty is a condition that today affects roughly one in ________ Americans.

seven

Government subsidies to small and large farmers are designed in large part to

stabilize farm income, which would otherwise fluctuate greatly due to market and weather conditions.

Supply-side economics is based primarily on

stimulation of the business (supply) component.

The Progressive Era of government regulation focused on

stopping corrupt business practices, such as the selling of unsafe food and drugs.

The Great Recession, which began in 2008, was precipitated primarily because the federal government was too lax in regulating

subprime mortgages.

Judged in the context of the full range of public policies, the government in the United States has been

substantially more supportive of business than labor.

The tax cuts pushed by President George W. Bush while in office were premised largely on

supply-side economics

Economic efficiency requires

that the output of goods and services is the highest possible given the amount of input used to produce them.

The federal government has assumed a permanent, strong role in the economy, contributing to its stability and efficiency, since

the 1930s.

A major point of debate surrounding the Federal Reserve's role in economic policy is

the Fed's political accountability.

Which of the following Western democracies has the highest poverty rate?

the United States

Which of the following has been a major impediment to any U.S. action to reduce its carbon emissions as a means of reducing climate change?

the fragmented nature of the U.S. political system

In The Wealth of Nations (1776), Adam Smith made all of the following arguments for laissez-faire capitalism, EXCEPT

the government should not be allowed any role whatsoever in the economy.

Fiscal policy is a mechanism the government employs to influence the economy. Fiscal policy is based on

the government's taxing and spending decisions.

The total cumulative amount the federal government owes to its creditors is known as

the national debt

Supply-side economics, as implemented by President George W. Bush's administration, involved

the supply component of the supply-demand equation. stressing the importance of tax cuts for businesses. stressing the importance of tax cuts for the wealthy. an increase in the budget deficit. All of these answers are correct.

Monetary policy includes all of the following assumptions EXCEPT that

too little money in circulation contributes to inflation.

The term externalities refers to

unpaid costs of production that are incurred by society.