Ch.12-18 Quizes POLI 2051 Hogan

What is the primary responsibility of the secretary of defense?

military policy

The _____ Amendment permits congress to levy income taxes

sixteenth

Which of the following is a concern about the social security trust fund?

soon there will be too few workers contributing to the Trust Fund to support the increasing number of retirees

Which of the following organizations contains a broad array of the president's foreign policy advisers, including the secretary of defense, the secretary of state, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the director of national intelligence

the National Security Council

Which of the following is an example of foreign aid?

the Peace Corps

Which of the following is an example of monetary policy?

the federal reserve board buying government bonds

The Social Security Act was enacted in _____.

1935

______ is an act of Congress that attempts to bind Congress to a total expenditure level for all programs in a given year

A budget resolution

What is a government program called that provides benefits only to individuals who qualify based on specific needs?

A means-tested program

What distinguishes a means-tested program from a social insurance program?

A social insurance program provides benefits to those who have paid into the program, while a means-tested program provides benefits based on demonstrated need.

What is the national debt?

All of the money the federal government has borrowed and has not yet repaid

Why do Americans tend to think that red tape is more prevalent than it actually is?

Americans tend to notice the bureaucracy only when it is inefficient and not when it works well.

Only _____ court can review that decisions of a lower court

An appellate

______ regulates industries using market-like strategies such as rewards

An incentive system

Who are the three main players in an iron triangle?

Bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional subcommittees

______ is the approach to regulation in which the government tells business how to meet certain goals, makes sure these directions are followed, and punishes those who do not follow the orders.

Command-and-control policy

Which of the following is an opinion written by a justice in the majority that outlines an alternatives basis for the decision?

Concurring

In what sense is Social Security spending uncontrollable?

Congress has enacted laws that make social security payments automatic for all those who are eligible

Financially, who benefits the most from the military industrial complex?

Defense contractors

Those who believed that regulations on business and industry are too numerous and too complex are most likely to favor the policy of _____.

Deregulation

What of the following best describes the executive branch's role in the budget process before the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921?

Executive branch agencies sent budget requests to the secretary of the treasury

When it comes to strengthening the economy, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to prioritize ______.

Fighting inflation

How did the cold war start?

It began after all of Eastern Europe fell under Soviet domination after World War II, prompting fears that the Soviets would spread communism.

How did the Pendleton Act reform the system of hiring and firing federal employees?

It required hiring and firing decisions to be based on merit rather than partisan loyalty

Before 1883, how were federal government jobs awarded?

Jobs were awarded based on applicants loyalty to the party in power

Proponents of which of following believes that it is appropriate for judges to make bold policy decisions when doing so is necessary to address pressing societal needs?

Judicial activism

If a judge believes that she should defer to decisions made by elected representatives whenever possible, she likely believes in which of the following?

Judicial restraint

What is the name given to the power of the courts to determine whether the actions of Congress and the executive branch are permissible under the Constitution?

Judicial review

The increase in _____ threatens the viability of the intergenerational system for funding Social Security

Life expectancy

In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court first claim the right of judicial review?

Marbury v. Madison

What is the source of money in the social security trust fund?

Payroll taxes

How might democracy distort budgeting?

Politicians spend public funds and give tax cuts to win votes

A _____ tax is one by which the government takes a greater share of the income of the rich than of the poor

Progressive

The fact that 43 percent of people filing income tax returns in 2013 paid no income tax at all is partly explained by the fact that the income tax is

Progressive

What is the goal common to both the Pendleton Act and the Hatch Act

Reducing the influence of partisan politics on the federal bureaucracy

A _____ tax is one in which the burden falls relatively more heavily on low-income groups than on wealthy taxpayers.

Regressive

Who represents the federal government in appeals to the Supreme Court?

Solicitor general

In court rulings, reliance on past decisions to formulate decisions in new cases is known as which of the following?

Stare decisis

Which of the following limits judicial power?

Stare decisis

In which courts are the vast majority of all cases tried?

State

Max Weber identified which of the following as a characteristic of bureaucracy?

Task specialization

Why is terrorism such a troublesome issue in national security today?

Terrorism is difficult to defend against in an open society and root out everywhere.

At President Roosevelt's urging, Congress passed dozens of laws designed to end the Depression. Why did the Supreme Court initially overturn these New Deal policies?

The Court believed that federal intervention in the economy was unconstitutional

Which statement best describes the conflict that has sometimes existed between the National Security Council (NSC) and others within the national security establishment?

The NSC has sometimes competed with cabinet departments such as State and Defense.

Which of the following accurately describes the United Nations?

The UN was created in 1945 as an international peacekeeping organization that, over time, has not always succeeded at making or keeping peace.

Which of the following is a government corporation?

The US Postal Services

Which statement best describes the world's superpowers since the end of World War II?

The United States and the Soviet Union were rival superpowers until the end of the Cold War, when the United States became the sole superpower.

Who instituted the Marshall Plan and who benefited directly from it?

The United States instituted the Marshall Plan to benefit Europe.

Which of following entities is responsible for influences interest rates in the US

The federal reserve board

Who nominates judges to the US district courts?

The president

What is implementation?

The process of translating the goal and objectives of a policy into an operating ongoing program

Why have multinational corporations become forces to be reckoned with in nearly all nations?

They account for a large portion of the global economy and have voiced strong opinions about government and economics

Which of these statements best describes the possible effect of efforts by the Federal Reserve Board to lower interest rates?

They can spur economic growth by increasing the available money supply

How do standard operating procedures influence bureaucratic decision making?

They promote uniform application of rules

Which of the following is the role of the Budget Committees and the Congressional Budget decisions

To advise congress on consequences of its budget decisions

What is the purpose of continuing resolutions?

To allow agencies to continue to spend money even when congress has not met its budgetary timetable

If you subscribe to Keynesian economic policies you are most concerned with ______

Unemployment

Which of the following is most consistent with the foreign policy of isolationism?

a country's refusal to intervene in an armed conflict between two other countries

Which of the following best describes the nuclear arms race between the world's two superpowers during the 20th century?

a tense relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s, during which each side was intent on obtaining more weapons than the other

How did the expectations for the vice presidency change starting with Walter Mondale? Select one: a. Presidents are more likely to use their vice presidents as close policy advisers. b. Vice presidents started to preside over the Senate. c. Presidents are more likely to select ideologically moderate vice presidents to expand their electoral appeal. d. Vice presidents started taking the lead in the budgeting process.

a. Presidents are more likely to use their vice presidents as close policy advisers.

What distinguishes the contemporary presidency from the institution originally envisioned by the Framers of the Constitution? Select one: a. The contemporary presidency is much more powerful. b. The contemporary presidency is less involved in the development of foreign policy. c. The contemporary presidency exhibits a greater level of deference to Congress in budgetary matters. d. Contemporary presidents are more cautious in advocating for their legislative agendas.

a. The contemporary presidency is much more powerful.

Which best describes a president's constitutional duty to Congress? Select one: a. The president must give Congress an occasional update on the state of the union. b. The president must have at least one cabinet member of the opposing party. c. The president must maintain party support in Congress. d. The president must inform Congress of the reasoning behind a veto.

a. The president must give Congress an occasional update on the state of the union.

Many assume that presidents with high __________ are more effective leaders. Select one: a. approval ratings b. levels of executive privilege c. debts and deficits d. campaign spending

a. approval ratings

Which of the following statements provides the best characterization of the members of the White House staff? Select one: a. The White House staff is a loose collection of bureaucrats who are loyal to executive agencies. b. The White House staff is composed of advisers who do whatever is in the best interest of the president. c. The White House staff is composed of policy specialists who have little personal loyalty to the president. d. The White House staff is the link between executive agencies in the bureaucracy and Congress.

b. The White House staff is composed of advisers who do whatever is in the best interest of the president.

What has to happen in Congress in order for the president to be impeached and removed from office? Select one: a. The House must impeach the president by a simple majority; the Supreme Court must convict with a two-thirds vote. b. The Senate must impeach the president by a simple majority; the House must convict with a two-thirds vote. c. The House must impeach the president by a simple majority; the Senate must convict with a two-thirds majority. d. The Supreme Court must impeach the president with a simple majority; the chief justice presides over a Senate trial that must convict with a two-thirds majority.

c. The House must impeach the president by a simple majority; the Senate must convict with a two-thirds majority.

Which presidential power is checked by required approval of the Senate with a two-thirds vote? Select one: a. extending diplomatic recognition to foreign governments b. terminating relations with other nations c. negotiating treaties with other nations d. negotiating executive agreements with foreign heads of state

c. negotiating treaties with other nations

Which of the following is a judicial power given to the president? Select one: a. determining the Supreme Court's docket b. establishing the jurisdiction of the federal courts including the Supreme Court c. nominating federal judges d. determining the constitutionality of judicial acts

c. nominating federal judges

Why did Congress enact the War Powers Resolution? Select one: a. to expand the powers of the president in the conduct of war b. to make Congress the sole actor in the conduct of war c. to limit the powers of the president in the conduct of war d. to empower the president to act unilaterally when American troops are in harm's way

c. to limit the powers of the president in the conduct of war

What does the Twenty-Second Amendment do? Select one: a. requires that presidents be natural-born citizens b. requires the president to be a resident of the United States c. requires the president to be at least 35 years old d. limits the president's terms of office

d. limits the president's terms of office

Which of the following citizens would be ineligible to become president? Select one: a. a natural-born citizen b. someone who is 37 years old c. someone who has lived in the United States for 20 years d. someone who has already been elected president twice

d. someone who has already been elected president twice

Which of the following is a group of 15 presidential advisers that is too large, diverse, and concerned with individual fiefdoms to effectively serve as a collective board of directors, leaving ultimate decision-making authority with the president? Select one: a. the White House staff b. the Executive Office of the President c. the chiefs of staff d. the cabinet

d. the cabinet

Which of the following is a possible solution to the longterm problem of solvency in the social security program?

increase the minimum retirement age