AP Government Ch 18 Vocabulary – Flashcards
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social welfare policies
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policies that provide benefits to individuals, wither through entitlements or means testing
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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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income distribution
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the "shares" of the national income earned by various groups
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income
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the amount of funds collected between any 2 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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a method used to count the number of poor people, it is considered what a family must spend for an "austere" standard of living
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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 rich than of the poor - for example, when a rich family pays 50 percent of 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 - for example, when both a rich family and a poor family pay 20 percent
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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. The opposite of a progressive tax, in which tax rates increase as income increases
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Earned Income Tax Credit
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a "negative income tax" that provides income to very poor individuals in lieu of charging them federal income taxes
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transfer payments
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Benefits given by the government directly to individuals. Transfer payments may be either cash transfers, such as Social Security payments and retirement payments to former government employees, or in-kind transfers, such as food stamps and low-interest loans for college education.
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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 children, usually called AFDC
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Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
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the official name of the welfare reform law of 1996
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Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
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once called "Aid to Families with Dependent Children," the new name for public assistance to needy families
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Social Security Trust Fund
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the "bank account" into which Social Security contributions are "deposited" and used to pay out eligible recipients
