Chapter 14: Public Policy And Economics

Front 1

Economic Policy

Back 1

Decisions a govt makes that affect the production, distribution, and consumption of goods; the provision of services; the flow of income; and the accumulation of wealth

Front 2

Laissez-faire

Back 2

French for "leave things alone" and the view in economics that govt should not interfere in the workings of the economy. Free economic competition among individuals will work naturally to the benefit of all.

Front 3

Socialism

Back 3

the view in economics that economic decision making should be completely under the control of political authority, and the govt owns and operates most of the major industries.

Front 4

Recession

Back 4

a minor and relatively short period of economic decline.

Front 5

Depression

Back 5

a period of serious and sustained economic decline

Front 6

Protectionism

Back 6

opposite of free trade; the belief that govt should protect american business and industry by restricting the flow of foreign goods into the US

Front 7

Free trade

Back 7

belief that america's economic interests are best served by allowing foreign producers to sell their goods without restriction in the US.

Front 8

Outsourcing

Back 8

establishment, by american corporations, of factories and offices in foreign countries to take advantage of cheaper labor markets.

Front 9

Fiscal policy

Back 9

governmental decisions about taxing and spending that affect the economic life of a nation.

Front 10

Monetary Policy

Back 10

government decisions about how much money should circulate in the economy and what the cost of borrowing money, the interest rate, should be.

Front 11

Office of Management and Budget

Back 11

an agency in the Executive Office of the President that provides the president with budgetary information and advice and is responsible for compiling the president's annual budget proposal to Congress.

Front 12

Deficit

Back 12

an excess of government expenditures over revenues.

Front 13

Debt

Back 13

The sum of the deficits of prior years. it is the total amount of money that the government owes to lenders and the variety of financial institutions that purchase government securities.

Front 14

Surplus

Back 14

an excess of government revenues over government expenditures.

Front 15

Net Interest

Back 15

charges that the government must pay to the public for the use of money borrowed to cover budget deficits and added to the interest paid to government trust funds to create total interest costs

Front 16

Incrementialism

Back 16

a model of decision making that holds that new policies differ only marginally from existing policies

Front 17

Mandatory programs

Back 17

government programs, like Social Security, in which spending automatically increases from one year to the next without specific annual appropriations action by Congress

Front 18

Social Entitlements

Back 18

Programs like Social Security and Medicaid whereby eligible individuals receive benefits according to law.

Front 19

Budget

Back 19

a planned statement of expenditures that includes specific categories of spending.

Front 20

Fiscal Year

Back 20

for budget and accounting purposes in the national government, the 12-month period beginning on Oct 1 and ending on Sept 30 of the following calendar year.,

Front 21

Authorization

Back 21

congressional enactment that creates or continues a policy program and the agency administering it

Front 22

Appropriation

Back 22

Congressional enactment that funds an authorized program with a specific sum of money.

Front 23

Balanced Budget Amendment

Back 23

a proposal for a constitutional amendment that would require the federal government to operate with a budget in which revenues equaled or exceeded expenditures.

Front 24

Continuing Resolution

Back 24

legislative action taken by congress to allow spending to proceed at the previous year's level when Congress has not met the deadline for reaching agreement on appropriations for the next fiscal year

Front 25

Congressional Budget Office

Back 25

a congressional staff unit that provides Congress with budgetary expertise, independent of the president's budget staff, to help congress clarify budgetary choices.

Front 26

Sequestration

Back 26

the process through which the president makes budget cuts in government programs to meet them mandates in law requiring ceilings o specific categories of spending.

Front 27

Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act

Back 27

law passed in 2010 that required budget increases to be offset by either reductions elsewhere or increased revenues.