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two-thirds

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About ________ of Americans recently reported that they agreed that ʺsuccess in life is pretty much determined by forces outside our control.ʺ

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people should take personal responsibility for themselves.

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Americans believe strongly that

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entitlements. means-tested programs

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Examples of Social Welfare policies include

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social welfare policies.

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Policies that attempt to provide assistance and support to specific groups in society are called

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is substantially higher than

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Federal spending on social programs ________ spending on the military and homeland security.

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controversial

answer

Programs to assist the poor have always been

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non poor; poor

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The government spends more on the ________ than on the ________.

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$46,000

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The median American household income is approximately

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entitlements.

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Government benefits provided regardless of financial need are called

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which provides benefits regardless of financial need

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An entitlement program is one

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highly uneven

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The distribution of income across segments of the American population is

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remained much the same, which is fairly unequal.

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During the 1960s and 1970s, the income distribution in the United States

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grew more unequal.

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During the 1980s and 1990s, income distribution in the United States

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Wealth

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________ is the amount of money owned, including stocks, bonds, bank accounts, cars, houses, and so forth.

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Wealth is distributed less equally than income.

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Which of the following is TRUE about wealth and income in American society?

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one third

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The top one percent of wealth-holders currently possess about ________ of all American wealth.

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Wealth is more unequally distributed than income.

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Which best characterizes the distribution of wealth and income in the United States?

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is quite uneven

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The distribution of income in the United States

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1990

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Statistics show that the distribution of income among American households was most unequal in

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income.

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The amount of money collected between two points of time is called

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Between 1979 and 1995, the poorest one-fifth of the population saw their real incomes increase, while the richest one-fifth of the population saw their real incomes decrease.

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Which of the following statements about wealth in the United States is FALSE?

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Many of the poor are losing ground to the higher-income groups in absolute terms.

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Which of the following statements about the distribution of wealth in America is TRUE?

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income distribution

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The share of national income earned by various groups in the United States is described by the concept of

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taking into account what a family would need to spend to maintain an ʺaustereʺ standard of living.

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The poverty line is measured by

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what a family would need to spend for an austere standard of living and the size of the family.

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The United States Bureau of Censusʹ definition of the poverty line takes into account

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poverty line

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To count the poor, the United States Bureau of the Census has established the ________ which takes into account what a family would need to spend to maintain an ʺaustereʺ standard of living.

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12 percent

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Officially, approximately ________ of Americans lived below the poverty line in 2005 (although many more could have fallen into it for short periods).

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nearly one-half

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One study of American families found that ________ were below the poverty line at least once during their lifetimes.

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the elderly

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Compared to the general population, poverty is more common among all of the following EXCEPT

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some families go in and out of poverty without being counted.

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Official poverty counts tend to underestimate poverty because

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African Americans.

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The poverty rate is highest among

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progressive

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A ________ tax takes a higher percentage from the incomes of the rich than the poor.

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feminization

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The ________ of poverty refers to the increased concentration of poverty among women.

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Social Security payments.

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Poverty among the elderly declined over the past several decades primarily due to

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proportional

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A ________ tax requires the same share from everyone, rich and poor alike.

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regressive

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A ________ tax takes a higher percentage from those with lower incomes, and less from the wealthy.

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progressive

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The federal income tax is an example of a ________ tax.

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proportional.

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The best evidence indicates that the overall incidence of taxes local, state, and federal in America is

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generally regressive state and local taxes are counterbalanced by progressive federal taxes.

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The overall incidence of taxes in America is proportional, because

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income taxation and expenditure policies.

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Governmentʹs main tools for influencing the distribution of income and wealth are

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progressive

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If the government takes a bigger bite from the income of a rich family than from the income of a poor family, then the tax system is

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proportional.

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If one person earns twice as much as another, but each pays 15 percent of their income in taxes, then the tax system is

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regressive.

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If a poor family pays 50 percent of its income in taxes and a rich one 5 percent, then the tax system is

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occurs in states with a sales tax.

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The poor are disadvantaged by regressive taxation, which

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progressive tax.

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The tax that can be used to redistribute income from the rich to the poor is a

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regressive tax

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A tax that can make the rich richer and the poor poorer is a

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proportional

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The best evidence indicates that the overall incidence of taxes in America is

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the elderly and other recipients of social security.

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The biggest chunk of transfer payments goes to

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transfer payments.

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Food Stamps, low-interest student loans, and Temporary Aid to Needy Families are all examples of

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provides money from the governmentʹs general treasury to those in specific need.

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A transfer payment is one which

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Medicare

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Which of the following is NOT a means-tested program?

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Social Security

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Which of the following is an example of an entitlement?

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consist of cash and in-kind benefits from the government.

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Transfer payments

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raised many of the poor above the poverty line.

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Transfer payments have

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are the largest and most expensive social welfare programs in America.

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Social Security and Medicare

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Medicare

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Which of the following programs receives the most funding?

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medical and hospital aid to the poor on the basis of need through federally assisted state health programs.

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Medicaid provides

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whether they viewed African Americans as lazy or not.

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According to Martin Gilens, whitesʹ attitudes toward welfare are strongly influenced by

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the high incidence of poverty among unmarried mothers and their children.

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The feminization of poverty refers to

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were strengthened as a result of Lyndon Johnsonʹs ʺWar on Poverty.ʺ

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Means-tested public assistance programs

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Social Security Act

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The ________, passed by Congress in 1935, dramatically brought the government into the equation of one generationʹs obligations to another.

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the New Deal.

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Social Security was begun in the United States during

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brought government into the equation of the obligations of one generation to another.

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The Social Security Act of 1935

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Lyndon Johnson

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The ʺWar on Povertyʺ was the set of social welfare policy initiatives begun by President

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Ronald Reagan

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The ʺWar on Povertyʺ programs were later attacked and had their funding reduced substantially by President

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Ronald Reagan

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Which of the following presidents did not accept or expand many of the programs initiated under Johnsonʹs ʺWar on Povertyʺ?

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severely reduced many of

answer

President Ronald Reagan ________ the ʺWar on Povertyʺ programs

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did not curb the spread of poverty, and actually increased the number of the nationʹs poor.

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Charles Murrayʹs evaluation of the Great Society programs concluded they

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a key problem all along was inadequate funding to see the anti-poverty programs through.

answer

Charles Murrayʹs study of the programs of the Great Society concluded all of the following EXCEPT

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not only did the social programs of the Great Society fail to curb the advance of poverty, they actually made the situation worse

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A major study by Charles Murray argues that

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discouraged the poor from solving their own problems.

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According to Charles Murray, the problem with social welfare policies is that they

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they do not include a means test to weed out welfare fraud.

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Criticisms of the current welfare system include each of the following EXCEPT

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negative attitudes toward blacks.

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Martin Gilens research suggested that Americansʹ opposition to welfare was based on

question

basic health care benefits would be provided to those who found jobs

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Each of the following were provisions of the 1996 welfare reform bill EXCEPT

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elderly.

answer

Nationally, over the past six decades, there has been a particularly strong redistribution of government benefits in favor of the

question

does worse

answer

Compared to other industrialized countries, the United States ________ in providing a safety net for all its citizens and in lifting a greater percentage of the poor above the poverty line with various programs.

question

only the Scandinavian countries spend a smaller proportion of their gross national products on social welfare policies than does the United States.

answer

The United States differs from other industrial countries in regard to social welfare in all of the following ways EXCEPT

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relatively few social welfare benefits

answer

Compared to most Western democracies, the United States provides

question

have a more positive attitude toward government than Americans.

answer

Europeans tend to

Chapter 18 Social Welfare and Policymaking

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