Unit 3 - Chapter 18

65) The ʺWar on Povertyʺ programs were later attacked and had their funding reduced substantially by President A) Dwight Eisenhower. B) Lyndon Johnson. C) Ronald Reagan. D) Richard Nixon. E) George Bush.

c

7) The government spends more on the ________ than on the ________. A) military; civilians B) youth; elderly C) men; women D) non poor; poor E) non citizens; citizens

d

15) Which of the following is TRUE about wealth and income in American society? A) Wealth is distributed less equally than income. B) Wealth and income are distributed about the same in society. C) Income is distributed less equally than wealth. D) Wealth and income are the same thing. E) none of the above

a

17) Which best characterizes the distribution of wealth and income in the United States? A) Wealth is more unequally distributed than income. B) Income is more unequally distributed than wealth. C) Wealth and income are each distributed in roughly the same pattern. D) The distribution of wealth is becoming slightly more equal, while the distribution of income is becoming slightly more unequal. E) The distribution of income is becoming slightly more equal, while the distribution of wealth continues to grow more unequal.

a

20) The amount of money collected between two points of time is called A) income. B) wealth. C) taxes. D) savings. E) asset accumulation.

a

31) The poverty rate is highest among A) African Americans. B) people over 65. C) Caucasians who live in Appalachia. D) Hispanics. E) residents of central cities.

a

32) A ________ tax takes a higher percentage from the incomes of the rich than the poor. A) progressive B) proportional C) regressive D) relative deprivation E) flat

a

33) The ________ of poverty refers to the increased concentration of poverty among women. A) feminization B) gender-enhancement C) female-orientation D) ʺpinkʺening E) sexualization

a

34) Poverty among the elderly declined over the past several decades primarily due to A) Social Security payments. B) the booming economy in the 1980s. C) changing attitudes in society regarding the elderly. D) the larger proportion of savings held by the elderly. E) none of the above

a

37) The federal income tax is an example of a ________ tax. A) progressive B) proportional C) regressive D) relative deprivation E) flat

a

41) If the government takes a bigger bite from the income of a rich family than from the income of a poor family, then the tax system is A) progressive. B) proportional. C) regressive. D) redistributive. E) retrogressive.

a

47) The best evidence indicates that the overall incidence of taxes in America is A) proportional. B) progressive. C) regressive. D) redistributive. E) relative deprivation.

a

49) Food Stamps, low-interest student loans, and Temporary Aid to Needy Families are all examples of A) transfer payments. B) regressive taxes. C) entitlements. D) relative deprivation. E) proportional taxes.

a

53) Transfer payments A) consist of cash and in-kind benefits from the government. B) are part of the proposed changes to make taxation more proportional. C) have significantly redistributed income in America. D) have the net effect of being regressive. E) all of the above

a

56) Which of the following programs receives the most funding? A) Medicare B) Medicaid C) Food Stamps D) Aid to Families with Dependent Children E) Supplemental Security Income

a

59) The feminization of poverty refers to A) the high incidence of poverty among unmarried mothers and their children. B) high poverty levels among the elderly, who tend to be female. C) higher incarceration rates of women today compared to twenty years ago. D) higher rates of homelessness among women. E) the high incidence of poverty among married mothers and their children.

a

63) The Social Security Act of 1935 A) brought government into the equation of the obligations of one generation to another. B) substantially freed adults from the obligation of caring for both their children and parents. C) provided for free medical care for all citizens over the age of 65 until it was repealed by the Republican congress of 1953. D) freed American citizens from the obligation of supporting the poor. E) substantially freed children and adults from paying their parentsʹ medical expenses.

a

64) The ʺWar on Povertyʺ was the set of social welfare policy initiatives begun by President A) Lyndon Johnson. B) Jimmy Carter. C) Franklin D. Roosevelt. D) Ronald Reagan. E) Harry S. Truman.

a

69) Charles Murrayʹs study of the programs of the Great Society concluded all of the following EXCEPT A) a key problem all along was inadequate funding to see the anti-poverty programs through. B) public policies discouraged the poor from solving their own problems. C) the programs actually made it profitable to be poor and victimized. D) many of the programs not only failed to halt the spread of poverty, they actually made matters worse. E) many of the programs actually increase poverty in the U.S.

a

78) Compared to most Western democracies, the United States provides A) relatively few social welfare benefits. B) selective rather than universal social welfare payments. C) an average amount of social welfare benefits. D) more cash transfers, but fewer in-kind transfers. E) overly generous social welfare benefits.

a

1) About ________ of Americans recently reported that they agreed that ʺsuccess in life is pretty much determined by forces outside our control.ʺ A) one-tenth B) two-thirds C) three-fourths D) one-half E) seven-eighths

b

14) ________ is the amount of money owned, including stocks, bonds, bank accounts, cars, houses, and so forth. A) Income B) Wealth C) Taxable income D) Net earnings E) Net profit

b

18) The distribution of income in the United States A) makes Americans the richest people on earth. B) is quite uneven. C) has shifted since 1950 towards middle-income people. D) is fairly equal compared to most nations in the world. E) has shifted notably away from elderly people since 1965.

b

23) The share of national income earned by various groups in the United States is described by the concept of A) the apple pie. B) income distribution. C) income relativity. D) socio-economic stratification. E) wealth allocation.

b

24) The poverty line is measured by A) the minimum wage extended on a yearly basis. B) taking into account what a family would need to spend to maintain an ʺaustereʺ standard of living. C) the number of people filing for unemployment benefits. D) the boundaries of an urban ghetto. E) proportion of the median income as determined by IRS records.

b

27) Officially, approximately ________ of Americans lived below the poverty line in 2005 (although many more could have fallen into it for short periods). A) 4 percent B) 12 percent C) 17 percent D) 31 percent E) 6 percent

b

29) Compared to the general population, poverty is more common among all of the following EXCEPT A) African Americans and Hispanics. B) the elderly. C) children. D) inner city residents. E) Asian Americans.

b

30) Official poverty counts tend to underestimate poverty because A) some families refuse to report their income level. B) some families go in and out of poverty without being counted. C) they do not include individualsʹ wealth. D) the Republicans want it that way. E) the Democrats want it that way.

b

35) A ________ tax requires the same share from everyone, rich and poor alike. A) progressive B) proportional C) regressive D) relative deprivation E) flat

b

38) The best evidence indicates that the overall incidence of taxeslocal, state, and federalin America is A) progressive. B) proportional. C) regressive. D) relative deprivation. E) flat.

b

40) Governmentʹs main tools for influencing the distribution of income and wealth are A) equal opportunity and affirmative action programs. B) income taxation and expenditure policies. C) extending eligibility for welfare and Medicare benefits. D) legislating and enforcing economic policies. E) monetary policy and wage and price controls.

b

42) If one person earns twice as much as another, but each pays 15 percent of their income in taxes, then the tax system is A) progressive. B) proportional. C) regressive. D) redistributive. E) egalitarian.

b

44) The poor are disadvantaged by regressive taxation, which A) does not occur in the United States. B) occurs in states with a sales tax. C) results from low welfare payments. D) results from the federal income tax. E) requires income withholding even though the wage earner will owe little or no tax in the end.

b

45) The tax that can be used to redistribute income from the rich to the poor is a A) sales tax. B) progressive tax. C) regressive tax. D) proportional tax. E) relative deprivation tax.

b

50) A transfer payment is one which A) requires some form of work in exchange for government assistance. B) provides money from the governmentʹs general treasury to those in specific need. C) is paid in lieu of cash. D) is not based on need. E) provides tax credits from the government general treasury to those in need.

b

51) Which of the following is NOT a means-tested program? A) Medicaid B) Medicare C) Food Stamps D) Aid to Families with Dependent Children E) none of the above

b

54) Transfer payments have A) significantly redistributed income in America. B) raised many of the poor above the poverty line. C) created greater income equality. D) have had virtually no affect on poverty in America. E) conspicuously bypassed the elderly, while helping many other groups.

b

55) Social Security and Medicare A) require an income and means test for eligibility. B) are the largest and most expensive social welfare programs in America. C) have had little effect on the health and income of older Americans. D) are voluntary programs aimed specifically at the poor. E) all of the above

b

6) Programs to assist the poor have always been A) politically popular. B) controversial. C) supported at increasingly high levels. D) provided as entitlements. E) none of the above

b

70) A major study by Charles Murray argues that A) although the Great Society did not eliminate poverty, it did reduce the number of poor. B) not only did the social programs of the Great Society fail to curb the advance of poverty, they actually made the situation worse. C) macroeconomic cycles were responsible for much of the movement into and out of poverty during the post-1965 period. D) although the Great Society was able to reduce poverty in America, it had no effect on racial discrimination. E) there is a ʺnew povertyʺ in America that is largely the result of deindustrialization, foreign competition, the exploitation of part-time workers and stagnation of the minimum wage.

b

79) Europeans tend to A) see poverty and social welfare needs as individual. B) have a more positive attitude toward government than Americans. C) distrust government action in areas like social welfare policy. D) leave people at low-income levels more on their own. E) prefer the perpetuation of a privileged and aristocratic upper class whose lifestyle they can envy even though they cannot live it.

b

11) The distribution of income across segments of the American population is A) just about even. B) slightly uneven. C) highly uneven. D) impossible to gauge. E) constantly changing.

c

12) During the 1960s and 1970s, the income distribution in the United States A) grew more equitable. B) remained much the same, which is fairly equal. C) remained much the same, which is fairly unequal. D) grew more unequal. E) narrowed considerably.

c

22) Which of the following statements about the distribution of wealth in America is TRUE? A) Many of the poor are slowly gaining ground, relatively speaking, to higher -income groups. B) All groups are increasing their wealth, with the poor increasing at a slightly lower rate. C) Many of the poor are losing ground to the higher-income groups in absolute terms. D) All groups are increasing their wealth, with the poor increasing at a slightly higher rate. E) The middle class (the middle quintile of the population) is increasing its share of the national income, while the top and bottom quintiles are losing their share of national income.

c

25) The United States Bureau of Censusʹ definition of the poverty line takes into account A) the earning power of the head of the household and family size. B) a daily intake of 2,000 calories and half the average hourly wage in the country. C) what a family would need to spend for an austere standard of living and the size of the family. D) the earning power of the head of the household and racial composition of the family. E) all of the above

c

26) To count the poor, the United States Bureau of the Census has established the ________ which takes into account what a family would need to spend to maintain an ʺaustereʺ standard of living. A) culture of poverty B) urban underclass C) poverty line D) relative deprivation index E) Poverty Index

c

28) One study of American families found that ________ were below the poverty line at least once during their lifetimes. A) nearly one-tenth B) nearly one-third C) nearly one-half D) nearly two-thirds E) nearly three-quarters

c

36) A ________ tax takes a higher percentage from those with lower incomes, and less from the wealthy. A) progressive B) proportional C) regressive D) relative deprivation E) flat

c

39) The overall incidence of taxes in America is proportional, because A) federal, state, and local taxes all tend to be proportional. B) generally regressive federal taxes are counterbalanced by more progressive state and local taxes. C) generally regressive state and local taxes are counterbalanced by progressive federal taxes. D) relative deprivation serves as a counterbalance at each level. E) federal taxes are proportional.

c

4) Policies that attempt to provide assistance and support to specific groups in society are called A) equal opportunity policies. B) redistributive policies. C) social welfare policies. D) tax subsidies. E) anti-poverty policies.

c

46) A tax that can make the rich richer and the poor poorer is a A) flat tax. B) progressive tax. C) regressive tax. D) proportional tax. E) graduated tax.

c

52) Which of the following is an example of an entitlement? A) Food Stamps B) Aid to Families with Dependent Children C) Social Security D) low-interest college loans E) Pell Grants

c

57) Medicaid provides A) hospital care for the retired and disabled people covered by Social Security. B) medical insurance to those over 65 and disabled. C) medical and hospital aid to the poor on the basis of need through federally assisted state health programs. D) cash payments to aged, blind, or disabled people whose income is below a certain amount. E) hospital care for people covered by Social Security.

c

60) Means-tested public assistance programs A) are funded at much higher levels than entitlement programs. B) were eliminated by President Reagan. C) were strengthened as a result of Lyndon Johnsonʹs ʺWar on Poverty.ʺ D) include Medicare, Unemployment Insurance and Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance. E) were eliminated by President Bush.

c

61) The ________, passed by Congress in 1935, dramatically brought the government into the equation of one generationʹs obligations to another. A) Aid to Families with Dependent Children Act B) Medicaid bill C) Social Security Act D) National Direct Student Loan Act E) Medicare Bill

c

62) Social Security was begun in the United States during A) the Civil War. B) World War I. C) the New Deal. D) the Great Society era. E) Spanish American War.

c

67) President Ronald Reagan ________ the ʺWar on Povertyʺ programs. A) was the mastermind behind the passage of B) continued to support C) severely reduced many of D) completely abolished E) enhanced the scope of

c

71) According to Charles Murray, the problem with social welfare policies is that they A) cost too much. B) did not receive adequate funding. C) discouraged the poor from solving their own problems. D) did not address the basic problem of racism as a cause of poverty. E) robbed hard-working Peter to pay lazy Paul.

c

72) Criticisms of the current welfare system include each of the following EXCEPT A) they discourage the poor from solving their problems. B) they make it profitable to be poor and victimized. C) they do not include a means test to weed out welfare fraud. D) they discourage poor people from saving money. E) they discourage recipients from getting married or even living together.

c

73) Martin Gilens research suggested that Americansʹ opposition to welfare was based on A) economic self-interest. B) conservative political ideology. C) negative attitudes toward blacks. D) negative attitudes toward the poor. E) negative attitudes toward government.

c

74) Each of the following were provisions of the 1996 welfare reform bill EXCEPT A) each state would receive a fixed amount of money to run its own welfare programs. B) people on welfare would have to find work within two years or lose all their benefits. C) basic health care benefits would be provided to those who found jobs. D) a lifetime maximum of five years on welfare was set. E) All of the above were provisional the 1996 welfare reform bill.

c

8) The median American household income is approximately A) $27,000. B) $32,000. C) $46,000. D) $59,000. E) $60,000.

c

9) Government benefits provided regardless of financial need are called A) means-tested. B) transfer payments. C) entitlements. D) non-merit benefits. E) generic expenditures.

c

10) An entitlement program is one A) to which only a small group of people are entitled. B) which requires a means test to qualify. C) guaranteed in the Constitution. D) which provides benefits regardless of financial need. E) none of the above

d

13) During the 1980s and 1990s, income distribution in the United States A) grew more equitable. B) remained much the same, which is fairly equal. C) remained much the same, which is fairly unequal. D) grew more unequal. E) narrowed considerably.

d

16) The top one percent of wealth-holders currently possess about ________ of all American wealth. A) one percent B) one tenth C) one quarter D) one third E) one half

d

19) Statistics show that the distribution of income among American households was most unequal in A) 1960. B) 1970. C) 1980. D) 1990. E) 1950.

d

3) Examples of Social Welfare policies include A) entitlements. B) means-tested programs. C) project grants. D) A and B E) A and C

d

48) The biggest chunk of transfer payments goes to A) means-tested programs in general. B) Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) in particular. C) unmarried black females with children. D) the elderly and other recipients of social security. E) foreign aid.

d

5) Federal spending on social programs ________ spending on the military and homeland security. A) is slightly less than B) is about the same as C) is slightly higher than D) is substantially higher than E) is much lower than

d

58) According to Martin Gilens, whitesʹ attitudes toward welfare are strongly influenced by A) whether they had ever personally experienced poverty. B) their religious beliefs about caring for the poor. C) their current wealth. D) whether they viewed African Americans as lazy or not. E) their educational background.

d

66) Which of the following presidents did not accept or expand many of the programs initiated under Johnsonʹs ʺWar on Povertyʺ? A) Richard Nixon B) Gerald Ford C) Jimmy Carter D) Ronald Reagan E) both Nixon and Reagan

d

68) Charles Murrayʹs evaluation of the Great Society programs concluded they A) helped to curb the spread of poverty and made the situation much better for millions of the nationʹs poor. B) helped to curb the spread of poverty, but did not make the situation any better for the nationʹs poor. C) helped to curb the spread of poverty, but actually made the situation worse for the nationʹs poor. D) did not curb the spread of poverty, and actually increased the number of the nationʹs poor. E) did not curb the spread of poverty, but strengthened the family as a social institution.

d

75) Nationally, over the past six decades, there has been a particularly strong redistribution of government benefits in favor of the A) very wealthy. B) corporations. C) nationʹs children. D) elderly. E) middle class.

d

76) Compared to other industrialized countries, the United States ________ in providing a safety net for all its citizens and in lifting a greater percentage of the poor above the poverty line with various programs. A) does much better B) does somewhat better C) does about the same D) does worse E) does something similar

d

77) The United States differs from other industrial countries in regard to social welfare in all of the following ways EXCEPT A) the United States does not have a comprehensive family leave policy. B) Americans tend to see poverty and social welfare needs as individual rather than government concerns. C) Europeans tend to see government in a more positive light, while Americans tend to distrust government action. D) only the Scandinavian countries spend a smaller proportion of their gross national products on social welfare policies than does the United States. E) the universal provision of daycare to toddlers, paid for by the government.

d

2) Americans believe strongly that A) Social Security is a bad policy. B) government is responsible for social welfare. C) families are responsible for social welfare. D) social welfare is a collective good. E) people should take personal responsibility for themselves.

e