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30 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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social welfare policies
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policies that provide benefits to individuals, either through entitlements or means testing
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unemployment rate
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As measured by the BLS, the proportion of the labor force actively seeking work but unable to find jobs
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underemployment rate
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As measured by the BLS, a statistic that includes, along with the unemployed, discouraged workers and people who are working part-time because they cannot find full-time work
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inflation
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A rise in price of goods and services
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consumer price index
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The key measure of inflation- the change in the cost of buying a fixed basket of goods and services
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laissez-faire
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The principle that government should not meddle in the economy
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monetary policy
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Government manipulations of the supply of money in private hands- one of the two important tools by which the government can attempt to steer the economy
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monetarism
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An economic theory holding that the supply of money is the key to a nation's economic health, with too much cash and credit in circulation producing inflation
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Federal Reserve System
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The main instrument for making monetary policy in the United States. It was created by Congress in 1913 to regulate the lending practices of banks and thus the money supply
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fiscal policy
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Use of the federal budget- taxes, spending, and borrowing- to influence the economy.
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Keynesian economic theory
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The theory emphasizing that government spending and deficits can help the economy weather its normal ups and downs.
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supply side economics
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An economic theory, first applied during the Reagan administration, holding that the key task for fiscal policy is to stimulate the supply of goods, as by cutting tax rates
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entitlement programs
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Government benefits that certain qualified individuals are entitled to by law, regardless of need.
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means-tested programs
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Government programs providing benefits only to individuals who qualify based on specific needs
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income distribution
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The way the national income is divided into "shares" ranging from the poor to the rich
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relative deprivation
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A perception by an individual that he or she is not doing well economically in comparison to others
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income
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The amount of money collected between any two points in time
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wealth
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The value of assets owned
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poverty line
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The income threshold below which people are considered poor, based on what a family must spend for an "austere" standard of living, traditionally set at three times the cost of a subsistence diet
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feminization of poverty
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The increasing concentration of poverty among women, especially unmarried women and their children
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progressive tax
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A tax by which the government takes a greater share of the income of the rich than of the poor-- for example, when a rich family pays 50 percent its income in taxes and a poor family pays 5 percent
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proportional tax
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A tax by which the government takes the same share of income from everyone, rich and poor alike
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regressive tax
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A tax in which the burden falls relatively more heavily on low-income groups than on wealthy taxpayers
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Earned Income Tax Credit
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A refundable federal income tax credit for low- to moderate-income working individuals and families, even if they did not earn enough money to be required to file a tax return
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transfer payments
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Benefits given by the government directly to individuals
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Social Security Act of 1935
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Created both the Social Security program and a national assistance program for poor families
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Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)
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the welfare reform law of 1996, which implemented TANF
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Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
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Requires people on welfare to find work within two years and sets a lifetime maximum of five years
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Social Security Trust Fund
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The "account" into which Social Security contributions are "deposited" and used to pay out eligible recipients
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capital gains tax |
tax paid on gains made when you sell an asset for more than you paid |
