Exam 8: Should Age or Need Be the Basis for Entitlement

The support ratio, or dependency ratio, refers to:

Since poverty rates among people age 65+ have been declining steadily since 1966, it is safe to say that poverty has been erased among the aged.

Poverty rates among children in the United States are higher than those of every industrialized country in the world.

Intergenerational transfers refer to the inheritance of assets by younger generations that were once held by older generations.

According to the reading by Thurow, reducing government support for older adults so that they must rely on more of their own resources may have which of the following effects?

Burtless suggests that it is misleading to focus solely on federal spending for older adults.

According to Burtless, government spending on older adults continues to climb for which of the following reasons?

Which of the following is an example of a cohort?

Burtless and Samuelson offer different perspectives on governmental spending on older adults. Summarize their arguments and discuss which seems the most reasonable to you, and why.

According to the "generational accounting" method of analyzing generational equity, the lifetime tax rate of baby boomers is about one-third higher than that of their parents.

The dependency ratio for children has ______ since 1960, and the dependency ratio for older adults has ______.

Proponents of generational equity argue that we need to rethink the values that inform policy decisions, while those who support the generational interdependence framework argue that this is unnecessary.

Do you agree or disagree with Thurow's concern that the growing population of older people will comprise a political force that will make excessive economic demands for their benefit?

Rising rates of poverty among children are due mainly to government entitlement programs.

Social Security and Medicare are unpopular governmental programs.

A more accurate picture of poverty rates results from looking at rates for specific ethnic and racial groups.

More than half of older people in the United States depend on Social Security for more than ______ percent of their income.

When the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), an experimental income-based method that takes into account more factors than does the official poverty level calculation, is used the poverty rate for older adults is higher.

Describe trends in poverty among older adults in recent decades. What impact have major entitlement programs had on poverty among the aged?

Out-of-pocket medical expenses contribute to the economic insecurity of many older adults.