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1 | |
The poverty line for Americans is defined as: |
| | A) | the annual cost of all goods and services that a person can reasonably be expected to need. |
| | B) | the line below which ten percent of American people live. |
| | C) | the annual cost of a thrifty food budget for an urban family of four, multiplied by three. |
| | D) | an income of less than $10,000 per person. |
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2 | |
According to survey data, the form of assistance that Americans favor most to help the poor is: |
| | A) | cash grants to poor families. |
| | B) | education and job training. |
| | C) | government jobs through government programs. |
| | D) | government services for the poor. |
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3 | |
The leading social insurance program is: |
| | A) | unemployment insurance. |
| | B) | social security for retirees. |
| | C) | Medicare. |
| | D) | public assistance programs such as food stamps. |
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4 | |
Social insurance programs have high levels of public support largely because: |
| | A) | of their self-financing feature. |
| | B) | they are based on an equality principle--all citizens are eligible for the benefits and all recipients receive the same level of benefits. |
| | C) | their cost is consistently below the spending level for public assistance programs. |
| | D) | they create an economic surplus for government to use for other programs. |
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5 | |
Of the following, which is probably the least criticized public assistance program? |
| | A) | Supplemental Security Income |
| | B) | Aid to Families with Dependent Children (pre-TANF) |
| | C) | Food Stamps |
| | D) | Medicaid |
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6 | |
Most social welfare programs are: |
| | A) | uniform throughout the states. |
| | B) | widely supported by Americans. |
| | C) | run jointly by federal and state governments. |
| | D) | managed entirely by the federal government. |
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7 | |
The U.S. welfare system is "inefficient" in the sense that: |
| | A) | not enough money is available to support all eligible applicants. |
| | B) | too much political infighting occurs in Congress to ever achieve significant welfare reform. |
| | C) | too much money is spent on individuals who are able-bodied but simply prefer not to work. |
| | D) | a large portion of the welfare budget never reaches the people it is intended to help, but is instead spent on the large bureaucracy that is required to administer the programs. |
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8 | |
"Inequity" in the U.S. welfare system describes the fact that: |
| | A) | many people who need public assistance cannot qualify for it because the eligibility rules are so arbitrary. |
| | B) | the public thinks that most welfare recipients are minority-group members, while in fact most recipients are white. |
| | C) | most able-bodied people would be better off economically if they were on welfare than if they were working. |
| | D) | the people who are more in need of welfare get less assistance from government than the people who are less in need. |
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9 | |
Today, the government standard for the poverty line is approximately how much for a family of four? |
| | A) | $8,500 per year |
| | B) | $10,500 per year |
| | C) | $16,700 per year |
| | D) | $28,500 per year |
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10 | |
When government gives a benefit directly to an individual such as in the form of a check made out in their name, it is called what kind of payment? |
| | A) | government voucher |
| | B) | food stamps |
| | C) | in-kind benefits |
| | D) | transfer payment |
| | E) | subsidy payment |
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11 | |
Which concept of government maintains that government intervention is necessary in order to enhance personal liberty and security? |
| | A) | pro-active government |
| | B) | transfer of responsibility |
| | C) | positive government |
| | D) | negative government |
| | E) | socialism |
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12 | |
Medicaid is available to: |
| | A) | any American who needs medical care. |
| | B) | all Americans at least 62 years old. |
| | C) | people who are already on welfare. |
| | D) | anyone who cannot afford health insurance. |
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13 | |
Americans tend to favor: |
| | A) | a guaranteed annual income for every American family. |
| | B) | reduction of welfare expenditures. |
| | C) | labor intensive welfare policies to make sure that people getting benefits really need them. |
| | D) | a and b only. |
| | E) | b and c only. |
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14 | |
The 1996 Welfare Reform Act that passed Congress provides: |
| | A) | an end to the federal guarantee of cash assistance to needy families. |
| | B) | for cash grants to states who must take responsibility for welfare recipients. |
| | C) | a limitation of five years for a person to receive welfare. |
| | D) | that states must help welfare recipients find employment. |
| | E) | all the above. |
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15 | |
Regarding income and tax measures in the United States, one can state that: |
| | A) | there are wide disparities in the income of those individuals at the top and the bottom of the income ladder. |
| | B) | income taxes in the U.S. have not been the instrument of redistribution that they are in other democracies. |
| | C) | through the Earned Income Tax Credit, the top 10% of tax payers can keep more than half of the tax money they owe. |
| | D) | a and b only. |
| | E) | a, b and c. |
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16 | |
Recent concerns among Americans about public education relate to: |
| | A) | violence in schools. |
| | B) | level of pay and work load for teachers. |
| | C) | the ability to choose the school one's children will attend. |
| | D) | b and c. |
| | E) | a and c. |
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17 | |
Which sector of American society has played the largest role in creating an equal opportunity society: |
| | A) | private enterprise. |
| | B) | the defense establishment. |
| | C) | government public assistance programs. |
| | D) | public education. |
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education