Government Exam 3

Front 1

The members of the Federal Reserve are largely removed from the vagaries of politics by being given terms of ___.

Back 1

14 years

Front 2

Define “GDP.”

Back 2

Total economic output for all final goods and services produced by an economy.

Front 3

Mandatory spending is fixed by___.

Back 3

Congress

Front 4

Define “Indexing benefit levels.”

Back 4

Tying of benefit levels in social welfare programs to the general price level.

Front 5

The amount of money spent by the federal government in excess of what it collects in revenue is the ___.

Back 5

deficit

Front 6

An individual’s total money income minus expenses incurred in earning that income is called ___.

Back 6

adjusted gross income

Front 7

List major sources of federal revenue.

Back 7

-Income tax
-Social Security payroll taxes
-Corporate income tax
-Excise taxes and custom duties

Front 8

If you called for all taxpayers to pay a 15 percent tax on their income, you would be proposing what kind of tax system?

Back 8

Flat Tax System (Proportional Taxation)

Front 9

Define a progressive taxation system.

Back 9

System of taxation in which higher-income groups pay a larger percentage of their incomes in taxes than do lower-income groups.

Front 10

The system that involves individual decisions and relies on voluntary exchange through buying, selling, borrowing, and contracting to implement them is called a(n) ___.

Back 10

Free-Market System

Front 11

If you were interested in changing the distribution of tax revenue to federal programs, would you study monetary or fiscal policy?

Back 11

Fiscal

Front 12

What are the formal instruments of executive economic policy making?

Back 12

The Budget of the United States Government

Front 13

What is the Federal Reserve likely to do if inflation is imminent?

Back 13

Raise interest rates, require increased reserves, selling bonds to banks and others in open market transactions

Front 14

The Federal Reserve oversees ___.

Back 14

the nation's monetary policy.

Front 15

The gross domestic product is based on ___.

Back 15

Market Prices
(The Nation's total production of goods and services for a single year)

Front 16

A recession is defined by___.

Back 16

a decline in the general level of economic activity.

Front 17

Nondiscretionary spending makes up about what percentage of the U.S. budget?

Back 17

Less than 20%.

Front 18

The federal government spends about what percentage of the country’s gross domestic product?

Back 18

25%

Front 19

Which demographic group identified by your text are least likely to live below the poverty line?

Back 19

Husband-Wife families.

Front 20

The official poverty line is set at about what proportion of the median income level?

Back 20

1/3

Front 21

People who have remained poor and dependent on welfare over a prolonged period of time are classified as ___.

Back 21

Underclass
(a.k.a Persistently Poor)

Front 22

1.) Social insurance provides benefits to ___. 2.) (What is the basic requirement to qualify for Social insurance programs?)

Back 22

1.) Social Security: Retirement, Survivors, Disabled; Unemployed; Gov't & Military Retired: Military, Federal Employees, State & Local; Medicare.
2.) Beneficiaries must have made a contribution to the gov't program before claiming any of its benefits.

Front 23

How are public assistance programs financed?

Back 23

General Tax Revenues / Public Assistance Principle.

Front 24

When was Social Security created?

Back 24

1935

Front 25

Seniors make up about what percentage of the voting population?

Back 25

28%

Front 26

Senior citizens’ political power arises from their ___.

Back 26

High voter turnout rate.

Front 27

Whereas in 1945 there were ten workers paying into Social Security for every retiree, the current ratio is approaching ___ to ___.

Back 27

2 to 1.

Front 28

About what percentage of medical costs in the United States is covered by private health insurance?

Back 28

40%

Front 29

What are the four major provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 are listed in your text?

Back 29

1.) Private insurers will no longer be permitted to deny insurance for preexisting conditions,
2.) or to drop coverage when patients get sick,
3.) or to place lifetime limits on coverage.
4.) Dependent children under age 26 can be covered under their parents' insurance plan.

Front 30

Define transfer payments.

Back 30

Direct payments (either in cash or in goods/services) by gov't's to individuals as part of a social welfare program, not as a result of any service or contribution rendered by the individual.

Front 31

Means-tested spending is based on one’s

Back 31

income.

Front 32

Members of which demographic groups are most likely to live below the poverty line?

Back 32

In order of greatest to least:
Families w/ Female Heads
African Americans
Hispanics
Under age 18
Over age 65
Whites (non-hispanic)
Husband-wife Families

Front 33

Public assistance programs provide benefits to___.

Back 33

the poor. (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Supplemental Security Income, & Medicaid)

Front 34

About what proportion of Americans receive some form of tangible government benefit?

Back 34

1/3

Front 35

List examples from the text of social welfare programs which are always public assistance programs.

Back 35

Assistance to Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, SCHIP (State Children's Health Ins. Prog), Food Stamps (SNAP), School Lunches, WIC (Women, Infants, Children), Child & adult care food, Public or assisted housing, Pell Grants, Opportunity Grants, Loans, Head Start, Work Study, Job Training.

Front 36

List examples from the text of social welfare programs which are always social insurance programs.

Back 36

Social Security (Retirement, Survivors, Disabled), Unemployment Compensation, Gov't & Military Retirement (Military, Federal employees, State and local), Medicare

Front 37

What percentage of all families in the United States include at least one person who receives a government check?

Back 37

1/2

Front 38

Since the New Deal, what decade produced most of the current entitlement programs?

Back 38

1960's (The Great Society Years [food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid).

Front 39

What are the two programs that comprise Social Security?

Back 39

Old Age & Survivors Insurance program, & the Disability Insurance Program

Front 40

Social Security, requiring an individual to pay in before he or she can get benefits, is an example of what type of program?

Back 40

Old Age & Survivors Insurance program

Front 41

A program such as Food Stamps, requiring recipients to fall below an income threshold, is an example of what type of program?

Back 41

Public assistance program

Front 42

The bulk of Social Security payments goes to __.

Back 42

The disabled.

Front 43

What program temporarily replaces part of the wages of workers who lose their jobs involuntarily and helps stabilize the economy during recessions?

Back 43

Unemployment compensation

Front 44

If you are over 65, have long been employed in the U.S., but have a retirement plan, you are likely to receive ___.

Back 44

Social security benefits.

Front 45

If you are 30, working, without children, but below the poverty line, for what programs are you likely to qualify?

Back 45

Food stamps, EITC, Medicaid

Front 46

What is the current age at which Social Security benefits begin?

Back 46

62

Front 47

What program listed in your text is a means-tested program that provides money for the elderly?

Back 47

Supplemental Security Income

Front 48

How is the age at which Americans become eligible for Social Security different than in the past?

Back 48

Americans are living longer and increasing the dependency ratio.

Front 49

Seniors account for what percentage of voters in any given election?

Back 49

28%

Front 50

If you are over 65, what are your most likely characteristics according to the text?

Back 50

More "likely" to own homes w/ paid-up mortgages, experience poverty differently from the way a young mother w/ children experiences it. Low incomes below the nat'l average.

Front 51

Who pays your Social Security contributions?

Back 51

Wages. 1/2 paid directly by the employer, 1/2 is deducted from the employees' check as the FICA deduction.

Front 52

Compared to today’s birth rate of 1.4 births per woman, that of the baby boom was

Back 52

3.5 births.

Front 53

When did baby boomers begin retiring?

Back 53

2010

Front 54

Functioning now as a pay-as-you-go system, the bulk of Social Security payments comes from ___.

Back 54

income from all social insurance premiums (taxes). [this generation of workers is paying for the benefits of the last generation, and this generation by the next]

Front 55

All wage income is subject to the Medicare tax, but wage income above a certain level is not subject to Social Security taxes. As of 2010, this level was ___.

Back 55

$106,800

Front 56

A distinctive proposal to deny increases in cash benefits to women already on welfare who have additional children is referred to as the ___.

Back 56

Welfare Reform Act

Front 57

If you have to pay for health care up front, before your health insurance plan pays, you are paying a ___.

Back 57

deductible

Front 58

What is the term used for health care not provided for those with minimal health care coverage? CHECK ANSWER

Back 58

CHECK ANSWER CHECK ANSWER CHECK ANSWERCHECK ANSWER CHECK ANSWERCHECK ANSWER CHECK ANSWERCHECK ANSWER CHECK ANSWERCHECK ANSWERCHECK ANSWERCHECK ANSWERCHECK ANSWERCHECK ANSWER

Front 59

What is the goal of managed care?

Back 59

To keep health care costs down.

Front 60

A health care plan that provides services for a fixed fee, usually lower than other providers, is known as

Back 60

Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)

Front 61

Who funds the State Children’s Health Insurance Program?

Back 61

Federal Grants (Federal Gov't)

Front 62

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 what is an “individual mandate”?

Back 62

Requirement that every American purchase health insurance or face a tax penalty.

Front 63

List the features of the health insurance exchanges under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 from your text.

Back 63

- Private insurers will no longer be permitted to deny insurance for preexisting conditions,
- or to drop coverage when patients get sick,
- or to place lifetime limits on coverage.
(controversial features: Individual mandate, employer mandate, medicaid expansion, health insurance exchanges, taxes, public option)

Front 64

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, employers will have to provide health insurance if they have how many workers?

Back 64

50 or more

Front 65

According to the text authors, which strategy would be most likely to lower health care costs in the United States?

Back 65

altered personal habits & lifestyles

Front 66

What provision increases benefits to keep up with inflation?

Back 66

COLA (Cost of Living Adjustments)

Front 67

Define discretionary spending.

Back 67

Spending for programs not previously mandated by law.

Front 68

Which modern president oversaw a budget that did NOT use deficit spending?

Back 68

Bill Clinton

Front 69

A majority of the federal government’s debt is owed to ___.

Back 69

U.S. Banks, financial institutions and private citizens who buy treasury bonds.

Front 70

Provisions in tax laws that legally entitle taxpayers to avoid paying taxes are often called ___.

Back 70

Tax Expenditures

Front 71

The tax rates that were scheduled to expire in 2011 range between what percentages of a taxpayer’s income?

Back 71

10 - 35

Front 72

What are the largest three sources of federal revenue?

Back 72

Individual Income Taxes, Corporate income taxes, Social Security payroll taxes

Front 73

Define tax expenditures.

Back 73

Revenues lost to the federal gov't because of exemptions, exclusions, deductions, and special-treatment provisions in tax laws.

Front 74

Legally getting out of paying taxes is ___.

Back 74

tax avoidance

Front 75

The corporate income tax is set at about what percentage of profits?

Back 75

35%

Front 76

The acronym FICA on a paycheck refers to deductions for ____.

Back 76

Mainly Social Security but also Medicare

Front 77

The second-largest source of federal revenue comes from the___.

Back 77

Social Security Tax

Front 78

The determining factor in differentiating between progressive, regressive, and proportional taxation is the ___.

Back 78

PERCENTAGE OF INCOME paid in taxes

Front 79

Which president made the American tax system dramatically less progressive?

Back 79

President Reagan

Front 80

What are parts of President Obama’s tax reforms listed in your text?

Back 80

1.) Lower taxes on the middle-class
2.) Raise taxes on upper-income Americans
3.) Income Redistribution

Front 81

If you called for a system in which the income tax rate increased by 1 percent for every $50,000 of income earned, you would be calling for what kind of tax system?

Back 81

Progressive
(??)

Front 82

According to marginal utility theory, the more you make___.

Back 82

is slightly less valuable than preceding dollars.

Front 83

Marginal utility theory supports what kind of tax system?

Back 83

Progressive

Front 84

Opponents of the progressive tax system claim that it penalizes ___.

Back 84

Initiative, enterprise, and the risk taking necessary to create new products and business.

Front 85

Which modern president aimed most decisively at making the tax system more progressive than 1970 levels?

Back 85

Obama
(??)

Front 86

The first step of the policy process is ____?

Back 86

problem definition (issues formation)
((identify the problem))

Front 87

Texas is in the district for the ____ Federal Reserve Bank.

Back 87

11th, located in Dallas.

Front 88

_____ is an example of an in-kind benefit.

Back 88

Medicaid & Medicare
--definition--
(Benefits of a social welfare program that are not cash payments, including free medical care, subsidized housing, & food stamps.)**
**not part of the answer technically.

Front 89

The accumulated national debt is now ______ trillion.

Back 89

10 trillion (Textbook)
16 trillion (debt clock 11/10/12)

Front 90

The crafting of appropriate and acceptable proposed courses of action to resolve public problems is called ______.

Back 90

Policy Formulation

Front 91

The current Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is ____.

Back 91

Ben Bernanke

Front 92

_____ orchestrated the Great Society programs of the 1960s.

Back 92

Lyndon B. Johnson

Front 93

A system of taxation in which higher income groups pay a larger percentage of their incomes in taxes than do lower income groups is known as ___.

Back 93

Progressive taxation

Front 94

The term “means test” refers to

Back 94

distributed on the basis of the recipient's income.

Front 95

The most politically powerful group in the population is made up of

Back 95

Senior Citizens

Front 96

Rather than a reserve system, Social Security is now financed on a

Back 96

pay-as-you-go system.

Front 97

According to your text, what percentage of the GDP is currently devoted to health costs?

Back 97

15%

Front 98

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

Back 98

Taxing, spending, and borrowing [deficit] activities [levels] of the [nat'l] government.

Front 99

According to the Budget of the United States, 2007, ____ percentage of federal revenue is paid by taxpayers in the form of individual income tax and social security and Medicare tax.

Back 99

45%

Front 100

The Social Security benefits that today’s retirees receive are funded primarily by

Back 100

income from all social insurance premiums (taxes). [This generation of workers]

Front 101

In 2011, the federal poverty line for a family of four is ______.

Back 101

$3,725 Monthly
$44,700 Annual

Front 102

Income security programs intended to assist persons whose income falls below a designated level are called ______.

Back 102

public asst. programs/welfare.

Front 103

The total percentage tax of Social Security and Medicare paid on an income of $24,000 is ___.

Back 103

$3,672

Front 104

Which term is defined as “a general increase in the average level of prices of goods and services”?

Back 104

Inflation

Front 105

Public assistance programs are generally labeled as

Back 105

Welfare

Front 106

Currently, Social Security tax is paid on ____.

Back 106

Gov't spending.

Front 107

A system of taxation in which all income groups pay the same percentage of their income in taxes is known as ___.

Back 107

Flat Tax (proportional)

Front 108

Which term is defined as “the total cumulative amount the U.S. government owes to its creditors”?

Back 108

National Debt

Front 109

In 1887, Congress adopted the Interstate Commerce Act, which was designed to _______

Back 109

regulate the railroad industry, particularly its monopolistic practices.

Front 110

In 1890, Congress passed the __________, a law designed to prohibit monopolies.

Back 110

Sherman Anit-Trust Act

Front 111

Historically, voter turnout for seniors in presidential elections is ___.

Back 111

68%

Front 112

Medicaid was designed to provide health care _______.

Back 112

Low income Americans.

Front 113

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

Back 113

the government adding to demand by spending more money itself And LOWERING TAXES. Results in deficit spending.

Front 114

The first action of the New Deal to regulate the banking industry was called the ______

Back 114

Emergency Banking Act

Front 115

Protection of low-paid workers by setting of minimum wages and maximum work hours per week was established in the ______

Back 115

Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)

Front 116

During the 1960s and 1970s, regulation tended to be in such areas as ______

Back 116

Consumer protection
Health and safety
Environmental protection
(All based on commerce clause authority)

Front 117

The U.S. Department of Labor oversees the unemployment compensation system, but __________ administer their own programs.

Back 117

States

Front 118

The theory that deficit spending by a government could supplement the total demand for goods and services, thus reducing the risk and impact of recession and depression, was posited by ______

Back 118

John Maynard Keynes

Front 119

Economic stability is defined as the condition in which there is ______

Back 119

A situation in which there is economic growth, rising national income, high employment, and steadiness in the general level of prices.

Front 120

The deliberate use of taxing and spending policies to improve the country's economic prospects is called ______

Back 120

Fiscal Policy

Front 121

The intentional course of action followed by government in dealing with problems or matters of concern is called ______

Back 121

Public Policy

Front 122

Annual cost-of-living adjustments mandated by law in Social Security and other welfare benefits are called___.

Back 122

COLA
Cost of Living Adjustments

Front 123

The term “entitlement” refers to a program

Back 123

with benefits of Social Welfare for which individuals are eligible by law.

Front 124

The EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) represents a reallocation or redistribution of income to

Back 124

Low Income Workers.

Front 125

Why did the surge of social regulations occur in recent history?

Back 125

social activism.
-The consumer and environmental movements were at the peak of their influence.
-The public had become much more aware of the dangers to health, safety, and the environment associated with various modern products.
-Members of Congress saw the advocacy of social regulation as a way to gain visibility and national prominence.
-The presidents in office during most of this period each gave support to the social regulation movement.

Front 126

The number of Social Security beneficiaries in 2007 was ____ million.

Back 126

47.3

Front 127

In 2007, approximately ___ percent of the population had no health insurance coverage.

Back 127

15%

Front 128

“SCHIP” stands for ___.

Back 128

State Children's Health Insurance Program

Front 129

Which of the following is defined as “an agreement which promotes free movement of goods and services among Canada, Mexico and the United States”?

Back 129

NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement

Front 130

Which of the following is defined as “The market system and private ownership are the major means of production, distribution and exchange which are run for the profit of their owners”?

Back 130

Free-Enterprise Capitalism

Front 131

Which of the following is defined as “Is a decline in the general level of
economic activity. (a negative GDP for two consecutive quarters)”?

Back 131

Recession

Front 132

The GDP for the United States is currently, approximately ____ Trillion.

Back 132

$15.4 trillion

Front 133

The national deficit for the federal fiscal year 2011-2012 is approximately ______ Billion.

Back 133

Approx. $16.2 trillion

Front 134

Define Collective Security

Back 134

Attempt to bring order to int'l relations by all nations joining together to guarantee each other's "territorial integrity" and "independence" against "external aggression".

Front 135

Define regional security

Back 135

Attempt to bring order to int'l relations during the Cold War by creating regional alliances between a superpower and nations of a particular region.

Front 136

Name and provide the general description and purpose of the four organizational areas of the United Nations

Back 136

-The Security Council - Primary responsibility for maintaining int'l peace and security.
- General Assembly - Authority over any matter affecting the peace of the world.
- Secretariat - Headed by Secretary General w/ a staff at UN headquarters in NY.

Front 137

Approximately how many member nations does the UN have?

Back 137

192

Front 138

The origin, history and the American policy of the Cold War

Back 138

After WWII, Russia, then allies w/ the U.S., Stalin used his army to install communist gov'ts in the nations of Eastern Europe in violation of wartime agreements to allow free elections. U.S. would stand against Russia on behalf of the preservation of democracy. It was a "Political, military, and ideological struggle between the U.S. and the Soviet Union following the end of WWII and ending w/ the collapse of the Soviet Union's communist gov't in 1991."

Front 139

The Marshall Plan...

Back 139

U.S. program to rebuild the nations of Western Europe in the aftermath of WWII in order to render them less susceptible to communist influence and takeover.

Front 140

The Truman Doctrine

Back 140

U.S. foreign policy, 1st articulated by President Harry S. Truman, that pledged the U.S. to "support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.

Front 141

The Korean War

Back 141

Communist N. Korea invaded non-communist S. Korea in June 1950, causing Pres. Harry S. Truman to intervene militarily, w/ UN support. General Douglas MacArthur defeated the N. Koreans, but w/ China's entry into the war, a stalemate resulted. An armistice was signed in 1953, w/ Korea divided along nearly original lines.

Front 142

Why did the “Bay of Pigs” event lead to the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Back 142

After the invasion, Castro pursued closer relations with the Soviet Union, partly for protection, that helped pave the way for the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Castro was then increasingly wary of further US intervention, and more open to Soviet suggestions of placing nuclear weapons on Cuba to ensure its security.

Front 143

The Cuban Missile Crisis

Back 143

The 1962 confrontation between the Soviet Union and the US over Soviet placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba.

Front 144

What is the progression of the US involvement in Vietnam?

Back 144

When communist forces led by Ho Chi Minh defeated French forces at the battle of Dien Bein Phu in 1954, the resulting Genevea Accords divided that country into N. Vietnam and S. Vietnam, w/ a US-backed gov't. When the Vietcong guerrilla forces threatened the S. Vietnamese gov't, Pres. Kennedy sent a force of more than 12k advisers & counterinsurgency forces to assist in every aspect.

Front 145

What was the importance of the Tet Offensive?

Back 145

Although labeled a "victory" for the U.S., it was Hanoi's greatest political victory. Television pictures of bloody fighting in Saigon and Hue seemed to mock Pres. LBJ's promises of an early end to the war.

Front 146

How did the anti-war movement assist the North Vietnamese government?

Back 146

After a peace was agreed to, 2 years later Hanoi decided that the Americans would get involved again and proceeded to invade S. Vietnam once again, only this time, he was successful.

Front 147

Why and when did the Soviet Union collapse?

Back 147

The collapse began w/ heavy stains on the weak economy of the Soviet Union. When hardliners in the Communist Party, military, and the KGB failed to forcibly remove Gorbachev, they hastened the demise of the Communist party. The USSR officially ceased to exist after Dec. 31, 1991.

Front 148

The New START Treaty

Back 148

THE EFFFECT IS TO REDUCE NUCLEAR ARSENALS OF THE FORMER ADVERSARIES BY 87% FROM COLD WAR LEVELS.
(Reduces overall nuclear warheads for each side to 1550. Each side is allowed a combination of 700 missile silos & bombers. Each side can determine for itself the composition of its strategic forces consistent w/ these limits.)

Front 149

When should the US military forces be used?

Back 149

To Protect Vital Interests:
-The US should commit its military forces only in support of vital nat'l interests.
- should be a last resort, after political, economic, and diplomatic efforts have proven ineffective.
In support of Important Political Objectives:
- Demonstrating U.S. resolve in crisis situations.
- Demonstrating U.S. support for democratic gov'ts.
- Protecting citizens living abroad.
- Peacemaking among warring factions or nations.
- Peacekeeping where hostile factions or nations have accepted a peace agreement.
- Providing humanitarian aid often under warlike conditions.
- Assisting in an int'l war against drug trafficking.

Front 150

Until what year did the U.S. have growing deficits and a high level of debt? Which Presidents changed that?

Back 150

1992. Pres. Bush (41) and Pres. Clinton.

Front 151

What was the U.S. Gross debt as a percentage of GDP in '92, '00, & '11?

Back 151

64.1%, 57.3%, and 98.7%

Front 152

In 1800, what percentage of the U.S. gov't was made up of federal spending? In 2011? In 2040?

Back 152

2%; 24.1%; 36.8%;

Front 153

What is was/is/will be US GDP in 1800, 2011, 2040?

Back 153

$8.89 Bil; $14.51 Trill; $28.45 Till.

Front 154

A large portion of the projected increase in spending is made up of...

Back 154

paying interest on our federal debt.