question

When the government's goals are embodied in a law or an order, backed by punishments or rewards, it is best described as

answer

public policy

question

What is the most important way the government affects personal and corporate investments?

answer

Promoting investor confidence through policies enforcing stability and regard for the law

question

Which of the following is not a goal of governmental intervention in the economy?

answer

promoting corporate accountability

question

The Securities and Exchange Commission was established

answer

After the stockmarket crash of 1929

question

Which of the following is not a function of the Securities and Exchange Commission?

answer

It protects the confidentiality of all sales of stocks and bonds

question

Which of the following are the three basic prerequisites for economic growth?

answer

public investment, innovation, strong workforce

question

The goal of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was to

answer

Put unemployed persons to work on public projects

question

What event marked the major historical turning point in the relationship between the government and the marketplace?

answer

Great Depression

question

What did the Great Depression and World War II do to the public's expectations regarding employment?

answer

They showed that the government could help to ensure full employment

question

When the price level of goods and services increases over several months, it is called

answer

inflation

question

Which of the following was not one of the goals of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009?

answer

providing for a national health care system

question

Public policy can be embodied in all of the following forms except

answer

a petition

question

All of the following are strategies to combat inflation except

answer

increasing the amount of government spending on public works projects.

question

______ are given to states and local governments on the condition that all expenditures are limited to the problem or group specified by law.

answer

Categorical grants

question

Which of the following is not a way in which the government promotes business development?

answer

regulations

question

Which of the following was not a major form of economic promotion by the federal government in the nineteenth century?

answer

public works projects

question

Which of the following does the Small Business Administration (SBA) provide?

answer

disaster assistance

question

Before the 1930s, relations between labor and management in the United States were

answer

among the most violent in the world

question

Vehicle safety is one of the chief responsibilities of the Department of

answer

transportation

question

Which of the following actions marked a decisive break with the tradition of the federal government promoting compromises between labor and management?

answer

In 1981, Ronald Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers and hired permanent replacements to fill their jobs

question

Upton Sinclair's 1906 exposé The Jungle revealed

answer

The unsanitary practices at meatpacking plants

question

During the 1960s, Ralph Nader was influential as

answer

a consumer advocate

question

Which of the following has not been a major goal of the government's involvement in the economy?

answer

Promoting economic equity and fairness for all citizens

question

Adam Smith's theory of ______ argues that many individual economic transactions come together to create a greater good for all.

answer

the invisible hand

question

Classic laissez-faire theory argues all of the following except that

answer

a truly efficient government allows private enterprise to provide all government services

question

Which of the following is the most important economic value for supporters of laissez-faire?

answer

efficiency

question

Which U.S. president once said, "I am now a Keynesian"?

answer

Richard Nixon

question

What economic development, according to many critics, has made Keynesian economics less useful?

answer

the rise of international trade

question

Who among the following advocated for laissez-faire capitalism?

answer

Adam Smith

question

Those who believe in ______ argue that the government's role in regulating the economy should be limited to regulating the supply of money.

answer

monetarism

question

The idea that the government can stimulate a slow economy by increasing public spending or cutting taxes is called

answer

Keynesianism

question

Which statement is the key argument of John Maynard Keynes?

answer

Government can pull an economy out of a recession by stimulating demand and creating a cycle of increased production and jobs

question

When did Keynesian economic ideas become government practice in the United States?

answer

the 1930s

question

Something that must be supplied by the government because it cannot be provided by the marketplace is called

answer

a public good

question

Who was the most prominent monetarist in the United States?

answer

Milton Friedman

question

Which of the following best describes the views of Milton Friedman?

answer

Government should let the growth in the money supply match the rate of economic growth

question

Which economist is best known for arguing that there is an optimal rate of taxation, and if taxes go above this rate, tax revenues will shrink because economic activity will decline?

answer

Arthur B. Laffer

question

How did the Federal Reserve respond to the terrorist attacks of 9/11?

answer

It cut interest rates to promote increased investment and spending

question

Which of the Founders was most responsible for the establishment of the Bank of the United States?

answer

Alexander Hamilton

question

______ is the current chair of the Federal Reserve Board, appointed by George W. Bush in 2005.

answer

Ben Bernanke

question

Which of the following statements about the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) is false?

answer

The FRB is part of the Department of the Treasury

question

Open-market operations describes

answer

The method by which the federal reserve buys and sells government securities to increase or decrease the supply of money in the economy

question

What is the reserve requirement?

answer

The rule that every bank must have a certain amount of cash and negotiable securities on hand at all times

question

If the Federal Reserve wants to help boost a sagging economy, which one of the following is the most direct way it can do this?

answer

Lower interest rates so that banks can provide more loans at cheaper rates to individuals and businesses

question

Which of the following is the best example of a public good?

answer

the interstate highway system

question

The power to raise or lower the tax rate is part of

answer

fiscal policy

question

A tax on imported goods is called a

answer

tariff

question

Before World War II, ______ of federal revenue was generated from individual income taxes.

answer

less than 15 percent

question

When people in the lower income brackets pay a larger percentage of their income toward a tax, it is called ______ taxation.

answer

regressive

question

Sales taxes are ______, and most income taxes are ______.

answer

regressive, progressive

question

A(n) ______ is an incentive in the tax code for individuals and corporations to invest their money in ways the government desires in exchange for a reduction in tax liabilities.

answer

loophole

question

______ were the centerpiece of George W. Bush's economic policy.

answer

tax cuts

question

Why did the Democrats believe that the 2001 tax cuts should only remain permanent for those making less than $250,000 a year?

answer

High income earners (those making more than $250,000 a year) had benefited disproportionately from economic growth in the early 2000s

question

The ______ is determined by the amount government spending exceeds government revenue in a fiscal year.

answer

budget deficit

question

In order to have reliable information about the costs and impact of economic policies, Congress created the ______.

answer

Congressional Budget Office

question

Why do many businesses prefer Congress to regulate the economy?

answer

One national regulation is better than the inconsistencies and disparities of different state laws

question

Which of the following is not an example of mandatory spending?

answer

defense spending

question

Approximately what percentage of the federal budget is made up of uncontrollables?

answer

60 percent

question

______ policies are designed to eliminate the abuses of powerful ______.

answer

antitrust, monopolies

question

What did Congress see as the principle cause of the economic recession that began in 2007?

answer

excessive risk taking by investors

question

______ are government grants of cash or other valuable commodities, such as land, used to promote activities desired by the government.

answer

subsidies

question

Why have politicians always favored using subsidies to promote certain economic activities?

answer

they can be treated as "benefits" that can be spread widely in response to many demands

question

Which of the following is not a benefit to government provided by contracting?

answer

Governemnt officials almost always use contracting to award businesses and corporations that donated substantial amounts of money to their political campaigns

question

Which of the following is not one of the concerns politicians have to consider when attempting to pass regulations that seek to protect the environment?

answer

public opinion, which overwhelmingly favors economic interests over the environment

question

The United States has ______ percent of the world's population, and is responsible for ______ percent of its greenhouse gas emissions.

answer

10, 25

question

Most of the groundbreaking environmental laws were written in the

answer

1970s

question

Which of the following statements about the relationship between government and capitalism is false?

answer

Before the progressive era, the market place was untouched by government interference

question

Setting emissions standards for each industry, while allowing companies to trade "carbon credits" is an approach to environmental policy known as

answer

cap and trade

question

The Kyoto Protocol was designed to

answer

set binding targets for greenhouse gas emissions to be met by each country

question

Which of the following was not a result of the 2009 Copenhagen Summit?

answer

the meeting ended with a legally binding agreement between countries to limit greenhouse emissions across the world

question

What year marked the beginning of the Great Depression?

answer

1929

question

Which of the following is the best description of the changing expectations of government's role in the economy since the 1930s?

answer

people hold the government responsible for a healthy economy

question

The most consistently powerful nongovernment actors in determining economic policy are

answer

business organizations

question

Which of the following is not a possible cause of the increase in economic inequality over the past several decades?

answer

the collapse of the domestic high-tech industry

question

Which of the following was a driving force for the economic growth during the late nineteenth century?

answer

manufacturing industries

question

The index of the total output of goods and services produced in a national economy is called the

answer

gross domestic product

question

The goals of American social policy are

answer

often controversial

question

Which of the following is an example of nineteenth-century "indoor relief"?

answer

the police station

question

Which group was the first to receive government assistance throughout the United States?

answer

mothers with dependent children

question

Social case work, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was largely concerned with

answer

personal counseling and "mental hygiene"

question

How did the Great Depression change American attitudes about welfare?

answer

It revealed that poverty could be caused by a flawed economic system, not just by personal irresponsibility

question

When was Social Security established?

answer

1935

question

Which of the following is not a program of forced savings?

answer

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families

question

Social Security is a good example of

answer

a contributory program

question

Which of the following statements about Social Security is false?

answer

Contributors receive benefits in strict proportion to their contribution

question

Medicare is a ______ program; Medicaid is a ______ program.

answer

contributory, noncontributory

question

The periodic adjustment of benefits or wages that takes into account the increased cost of living is called

answer

indexing

question

Why have Americans typically been apprehensive about government efforts to reform health care?

answer

they fear reform will be too costly and will jeopardize current health care arrangements

question

A cost-of-living adjustment is based on what?

answer

the rate of inflation

question

When potential recipients of a benefit must establish their genuine need, the government program is called

answer

means tested

question

What important noncontributory program was abolished by Congress in 1996?

answer

Aid to Families with Dependent Children

question

When was Medicare established?

answer

1965

question

The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program is administered

answer

by the states with benefit levels varying between states

question

Which of the following statements about noncontributory programs is false?

answer

the existence of these programs dates from the Civil War

question

Which program was designed to help augment the benefits to the aged, blind, and disabled?

answer

Supplemental Security Income

question

Which of the following is an in-kind benefit?

answer

food stamps

question

How does an entitlement differ from a right?

answer

Unlike an entitlement, a right cannot be taken away by an act of congress

question

What was the significance of the Supreme Court case Goldberg v. Kelly?

answer

It held that public assistance benefits could not be revoked without due process of law

question

Which of the following is not a goal of American social policy?

answer

closing the gap between rich and poor

question

What do public opinion polls reveal about welfare policies?

answer

they are among the most disliked government programs

question

What was the reason behind Progressive-era welfare for single mothers?

answer

reformers wanted women to stay home with their children rather than going to work

question

The welfare reforms of 1996 did all of the following except

answer

taking the federal government out of welfare policy, granting all authority to the states

question

Which of the following can be concluded from the results of the 1996 welfare reforms?

answer

the reforms have reduced the number of people on welfare, but have done little to reduce poverty

question

The main change in welfare policies since 1996 is

answer

increased use of non-cash assistance

question

Approximately what percentage of the current federal budget is spent on entitlement programs, such as Social Security and Medicare?

answer

55 percent

question

Over the past three decades, the level of federal payroll tax has ______, and the level of federal corporate taxes has ______.

answer

risen, fallen

question

Which of the following social policies is the most costly to the government?

answer

social security

question

Which of the following is not an identifiable problem with Social Security?

answer

the political consensus supporting a federal retirement program is crumbling

question

The idea of ______ was at the heart of George W. Bush's 2005 plan for Social Security reform.

answer

private accounts

question

The goals of social policy

answer

reflect changing views about which risks should be borne by the individual or shared by society

question

After the election of 2004, President George W. Bush announced that ______ would be the centerpiece of his domestic policy.

answer

Social Security Reform

question

The first federal government assistance in education came

answer

in 1785, when the federal government set aside land for public schools

question

What is the most significant force determining the distribution of opportunities in the United States?

answer

education

question

What was the most significant education policy developed by the federal government in the nineteenth century?

answer

the establishment of land-grant colleges

question

What event brought federal attention to elementary school education?

answer

the fear that the soviets were winning the cold war through better technology

question

The idea that all people should have the freedom to use whatever talents and wealth they have to achieve their goals is called

answer

equality of opportunity

question

Which of the following statements about the No Child Left Behind Act is false?

answer

it creates a standard national test for all students

question

Which of the following was a key part of President Obama's overhaul of No Child Left Behind?

answer

a proposal to change the criteria for allocating $14 billion in federal assistance to schools from a per pupil formula to a system of competitive grants

question

Which of the following is not a reason why the No Child Left Behind Act has been controversial?

answer

the states were made responsible for setting standards and devising appropriate tests

question

Charter schools are best described as

answer

public schools that are free to design special curricula

question

Who was in charge of caring for the poor during the nineteenth century?

answer

private corporations

question

Since the 1930s, American employment and training programs have

answer

fared poorly in terms of both expense and results

question

Which of the following was created during the New Deal?

answer

Works Progress Administration

question

When was the U.S. Public Health Service founded?

answer

1798

question

What was the result of the efforts to reform health care in the United States in 1994?

answer

Health care reform met resistance and no bill was voted on by congress

question

In 2010, approximately what percentage of American workers were offered health insurance through their jobs?

answer

60 percent

question

Which of the following was not included in the congressional plans for health care reform?

answer

a "public option" allowing individuals to acquire medical coverage directly from the government

question

The central thrust of federal housing policy has been to

answer

promote homeownership

question

In 2007 and 2008, the government faced a housing crisis caused by

answer

foreclosures

question

Which of the following is the strongest factor in predicting which groups in society receive the most benefits from government's social policies?

answer

groups that are the most politically powerful

question

Which of the following groups receives the most benefits from government's social policies?

answer

the middle class

question

When did the American welfare state begin?

answer

the 1930s

question

Which of the following groups receives the least benefits from government's social policies?

answer

children

question

Which of the following least explains why the elderly receive a large share of social benefits?

answer

most member of congress are themselves elderly or soon will be

question

AARP has a membership of approximately ______ members.

answer

40 million

question

Between 1959 and 2004, the percentage of elderly Americans living in poverty has gone from ______ to ______.

answer

35 percent, 10 percent

question

______ are programs where the government provides a tax deduction for spending on health insurance and other benefits by both employers and employees.

answer

tax expenditures

question

Which of the following is the best example of the shadow welfare state?

answer

workplace medical insurance

question

What is the shadow welfare state?

answer

social benefits that are distributed by private employers who are being subsidized by the government

question

Which of the following programs most benefits the working poor?

answer

earned income tax credits

question

Which of the following is not a reason the working poor receive such a small amount of social policy benefits?

answer

the working poor are often considered undeserving by public opinion

question

Since the welfare reforms of 1996, what is the primary reason for receiving federal cash assistance if one is nonworking and able-bodied?

answer

the recipient is caring for children

question

What was the primary problem with private charities before the development of the welfare state?

answer

they would make subjective decisions on who was deserving or undeserving of aid

question

Since the mid-1990s, by how much has the number of welfare recipients declined in the United States?

answer

over 50%

question

Which of the following statements is incorrect?

answer

men are more likely to be poor than women

question

Which of the following groups are more than twice as likely as other Americans to be below the poverty line?

answer

single mothers

question

According to the text, why is it difficult to lobby for the interests of poor children?

answer

children cannot vote

question

What was outdoor relief distributed by private charities?

answer

money

question

What was the main fear concerning the consequences of outdoor relief?

answer

it perpetuated poverty

question

Which of the following is not a component of American foreign policy?

answer

social security

question

The policy of striking a nation that you fear might be contemplating hostile actions is called

answer

preemption

question

A ______ nation is one with unstable leadership, whose polices are driven by ideology rather than by economic or human costs and benefits.

answer

rogue

question

When a nation is granted "most favored nation" status with the United States, it means the nation

answer

is to be offerred the lowest tariff rates

question

In 1998, the foreign trade term most favored nation was changed to what?

answer

normal trade relations

question

The North American Free Trade Agreement is

answer

a trade treaty between the United States, Canada, and Mexico designed to lower and eliminate tariffs

question

Which of the following statements about the World Trade Organization is incorrect?

answer

The United States dropped out of the World Trade Organization in 2004 over a disagreement about steel tariffs

question

Protests against the World Trade Organization (WTO) in recent years were prompted by

answer

the perception that the WTO was not paying enough attention to developing countries

question

In 1997, the United States withdrew from

answer

the Kyoto Protocol

question

Which of the following goals has traditionally been of lowest priority in U.S. foreign policy?

answer

human rights

question

Most American presidents have been

answer

domestic politicians who set out to make their place in history through domestic achievements

question

What eighteenth-century politician warned Americans against too much involvement with foreign nations?

answer

George Washington

question

In foreign policy, the Bush Doctrine refers to

answer

preemptive war

question

Which official is not a major actor in American foreign policy?

answer

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

question

Which of the following is the most important actor in the foreign policy establishment?

answer

the president

question

What is the chief task of the National Security Council?

answer

to coordinate the differences among the executive's key foreign policy makers

question

What is the main job of the director of national intelligence?

answer

to collate and coordinate intelligence coming in from multiple sources and to report this to the president

question

Which president established preemption as the centerpiece of his foreign policy?

answer

George W. Bush

question

In 2005, which of the following set off a new set of power struggles in Washington, D.C., over control of the intelligence community?

answer

the appointment of a national intelligence "czar"

question

Which war was officially declared by Congress?

answer

War of 1812

question

Why has Congress become a major foreign policy maker since World War II?

answer

Congress is regularly called upon to approve financing of foreign policies

question

An agreement between the president and another country that has the force of a treaty but lacks congressional approval is called

answer

an executive agreement

question

The nineteenth-century policy of ______ was based on the geographic distance of the United States from other countries.

answer

isolationism

question

In the sphere of foreign policy, which of the following is not a constitutional power possessed by Congress?

answer

negotiating treaties on behalf of the United States

question

The most important task of the Senate in foreign policy is

answer

reviewing and approving treaties

question

What is the main difference between a maker and a shaper of American foreign policy?

answer

makers are those within government, while shapers are influential groups outside of official government

question

Which of the following is not an influential interest group affecting American foreign policy?

answer

diplomats from foreign nations

question

Which of the following does not represent an important interest reflected through the actions of foreign policy interest groups?

answer

domestic representation of foreign governments

question

Which interest group in the United States is more likely to depend on demonstrations and other nontraditional strategies of influence?

answer

environmental groups

question

Which ethnic group has the reputation of having the greatest influence on American foreign policy?

answer

Jewish Americans

question

What is the most critical resource the media has to influence foreign policy?

answer

the speed and the scale with which the media can spread political communication

question

Why did embedded journalists in Iraq lead to controversy?

answer

there was widespread suspiscion and fear that the journalists were being managed or manipulated by the government to provide favorable reporting of the war effort

question

In a crisis, which of the following has the greatest foreign policy influence?

answer

the president

question

What was the key to American security during the nineteenth century?

answer

geographical isolation

question

In regard to foreign policy, which of the following is not a problem that the media poses to the president?

answer

the media is generally biased against international conflict, thus making it difficult for the president to engage U.S. troops abroad

question

Which of the following statements about who really makes American foreign policy is false?

answer

the influence or power of the president varies depending on which particular country or group of countries the United States is dealing with

question

The representation of a government to other foreign governments is called

answer

diplomacy

question

The main effort to change the foreign service into a fully professional diplomatic corps was

answer

the Foreign Service Act of 1946

question

The first efforts by the United States to create a professional Foreign Service staff started

answer

after World War I

question

President Clinton's appointment of former senator George Mitchell to chair the Northern Ireland peace talks in 1998 is a good example of

answer

the president's avoidance of conventional diplomatic staff

question

Currently, the United Nations has approximately ______ member states.

answer

192

question

The traditional American distrust of diplomacy has resulted in which situation?

answer

Presidents often use military or political leaders outside the State Department during a crisis

question

Which of the following nations does not have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council?

answer

Germany

question

According to the text, which of the following does not describe the United Nations?

answer

is generally adversarial to the interest of the United States

question

Deterrence assumes the ______ of the U.S. response and the ______ of an adversary.

answer

certainty, rationality

question

The International Monetary Fund

answer

provides loans and facilitates a short-flow of money to countries in need

question

The UN Security Council has ______ permanent members and ______ elected members.

answer

five, ten

question

Foreign aid is an economic ______. Sanctions are an economic ______.

answer

carrot, stick

question

What was the Marshall Plan?

answer

the economic recovery package of aid from the United States to Western Europe after World War II

question

When was NATO formed?

answer

1949

question

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an example of

answer

multilateralism

question

Which of the following is not a NATO member?

answer

mexico

question

During the Persian Gulf War, allies of the United States paid for what percentage of the war's costs?

answer

90 percent

question

Of which collective security organization is the United States not a member?

answer

the warsaw pact

question

Which of the following describes the "realist" view of foreign policy?

answer

Foreign policies should be guided by the national interest, even if from the outside the nation appears cold and ruthless.

question

Why did the United States fight wars in Korea and Vietnam?

answer

policy makers believed if we didn't fight, it would embolden the communists

question

The foreign policy ideals that Americans have historically espoused assert

answer

that our foreign policies should have a higher purpose than the pursuit of our own interests and to use force only as a last resort.

question

The most noteworthy example of the policy of deterrence was

answer

the arms race

question

When did the Cold War begin?

answer

the 1940s, soon after World War II

question

All of the following are elements of a nation-state except that

answer

it must be a member of the united nations

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