12.2 Financing State and Local Governments

This program works with the local school board to provide funding as no money is given to parents but parents may choose which school their children attend

Charter schools

This reform does not go as far as vouchers, but it still provides publicly funded alternatives to standard public schools

Charter schools

In recent years more and more states have turned to _____ to pay their expenses, and now billions of dollars are coming from them with states retaining about one-third of the money as proceeds

Lotteries

Two of the following are sources of income for counties, townships, cities, and states

Lotteries and grants

Critics say that this program causes teachers to "teach to the test," and that creativity in the classroom is inhibited

National student testing

This reform advocates that students be given national exams in various subjects to measure their accomplishments by an objective standard

National student testing

This type of taxes is controversial because other types of property, such as stocks, bonds, and bank accounts, generally are not taxed

Property taxes

This type of taxes provides the chief source of income for local governments today and is levied on land, buildings, and personal dwellings

Property taxes

They are the most important source of revenue for states and is placed on various products for which customers pay

Sales tax

Today 45 states have this kind of tax that applies to most goods, although food is usually excluded, and sometimes clothing is exempt

Sales tax

Taxes levied on those that extract natural resources such as coal, oil, timber, and gas from the land are called _____

Severance taxes

Counties, townships, cities, and states collect some of their money from licenses and fees and state-operated businesses, but about half of state revenue comes from _____

Taxes

What are the chances in having the winning ticket in the Powerball Lottery

1 in 292,000,000

Taxes imposed on gasoline, liquor, automobiles, and cigarettes are called _____

Excise taxes

This type of taxes is generally progressive; that is, it is graduated so that the rate goes up with the size of the income

Income taxes

This type of taxes is imposed by all but a handful of states on personal and corporate incomes

Income taxes

Taxes imposed when a person dies and wills property to heirs are called _____

Inheritance and estate taxes

Funding for education comes primarily from federal government and it also gives a great deal of financial and administrative support to schools

False

In Hawaii the state pays about 90% of educational expenses, as compared to New Hampshire, where only about 20% is paid by the local school district

False

Inequalities between affluent and needy areas do not have an effect in the education gap across America

False

Military defense is a budget item for state and local governments

False

Most states get more than a quarter of their income from _____ that often go for building projects, such as roads, bridges, and dams, and for education, health care, and welfare

Federal grants

Because most schools are funded by property taxes, many prosperous communities are able to collect more taxes than are poor communities, where property values are much lower

True

Critics maintain that the unequal situation among communities creates inequities in the quality of schools, resulting in inadequate education for poor children

True

Local and state tax money pays for police protection, education, highway building and maintenance, welfare programs, and hospital and health care

True

Part of the reason as to why state and local governments in the US provide most of the funding for education is that the traditional belief that communities need to take care of their own children

True

Public education is the single largest expenditure for state and local governments across the nation

True

Taxing citizens is one of the concurrent powers of government, which means that the federal, state, and local levels all have the power to tax

True

The single biggest expenditure in all states is education, with the average state and the localities within it spending just less than one-quarter of its budget for public schools

True

Opponents of this program argue that it drains additional funds from communities that most need them and allows parents to use public money to send their children to religious schools

Vouchers

This program provides parents with a set amount of money to pay for their child's education in a public or private school of their choice

Vouchers