Deck 10: Poverty

Question 1

If a U.S.president today followed Lyndon Johnson's model of addressing poverty,what might they do?

A) consolidate various social programs into a single office in order to coordinate and improve efforts to reduce poverty
B) break up governmentally consolidated programs in order to give more autonomy to states
C) encourage localities to mix social classes in residential areas and in public schools
D) encourage citizens to look at race,ethnicity,and gender as social factors influencing poverty

Answer 1

A

Question 2

In general,a major goal of Clinton's 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was to:

A) get people back into the labor market as soon as possible.
B) shift the responsibilities of running welfare programs away from individual states.
C) increase government assistance for those in poverty.
D) expand employment opportunities in government and civil service.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The story of Marlin Card,who was born into poverty as a child and has lived his life in and out of prison,demonstrates what,according to Card himself?

A) the need for more strict sentencing policies to keep criminals off the street
B) the importance of quality time spent between parents and children,which is so difficult for the poor to find
C) the need for a higher minimum wage to keep more people out of poverty
D) the difficulty those in poverty have in maintaining regular employment

Answer 3

B

Question 4

It is 1970,and a development worker hopes to understand Mexican peasant families before intervening to improve their lives.This development worker reads Oscar Lewis's "The Culture of Poverty" and interprets peasant life according to Lewis's theory.What does the development worker conclude?

A) Due to poor childhood nutrition and maternal care,peasants develop low IQs and,thus,poverty.
B) Peasants make rational but self-defeating choices,passing poverty on to subsequent generations.
C) Governmental repression and neglect can be seen in peasant faces,clothes,and bodies.
D) Peasants parent their children poorly because adults work long hours far from home,thus creating social problems.

Question 5

Some policy experts believe that welfare creates more problems than it solves because it discourages people from finding work.This is also known as:

A) a social disease.
B) a perverse incentive.
C) the cycle of poverty.
D) an intended consequence.

Question 6

What method is usually used to measure poverty?

A) statistical measures of income
B) maternal and infant health outcomes
C) self-reporting
D) interviewing and observation

Question 7

Marlin Card expressed insight also found in Susan Mayer's research when he said that even more than increased income,families such as his would benefit from more:

A) transportation assistance.
B) quality time between parents and their children.
C) affordable health care.
D) equity in the criminal justice system.

Question 8

Cho is working on poverty reduction in a Philadelphia public housing development.In the analysis he writes after the project,he uses Mario Luis Small's idea of "culture as frames" instead of Oscar Lewis's "culture of poverty" because the "culture of poverty" thesis:

A) does not include recommendations for public housing.
B) is less popular among sociologists today than it used to be.
C) applies only to Mexico.
D) tends to blame the poor.

Question 9

Susan Mayer wrote What Money Can't Buy: Family Income and Children's Life Chances.Her findings were similar to what Marlin Card was suggesting would have helped his chances in life.Which of the following might have addressed this issue?

A) parenting classes
B) higher-paying jobs
C) higher welfare payments
D) desegregation of schools

Question 10

Which of the following people "busted her digit"?

A) one who got a high-paying job and lost her eligibility for welfare payments
B) one on welfare who got in trouble for stealing someone's social security number and collecting two welfare payments
C) one who cashed her welfare check
D) one who skipped out on a long line at the welfare agency

Question 11

Policy influenced by David Grusky's work would likely:

A) target the underclass for character education.
B) intervene in the generational transmission of values that encourage poverty.
C) enhance the safety net,because perverse incentives aren't as powerful as once feared.
D) reduce the safety net and encourage the poor to take advantage of mainstream economic opportunities.

Question 12

A politician who argues that poverty causes people to reject the practices of "mainstream" society is making a(n)________ argument.

A) functionalist
B) Marxist
C) culture of poverty
D) life chances

Question 13

Which of the following shifted more of the responsibility of running welfare programs onto individual states and mandated time limits for the number of months a person can receive aid?

A) Women,Infants,and Children Nutrition Program
B) Economic Opportunity Act
C) Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
D) War on Poverty

Question 14

Suppose you are a policy maker who is interested in reducing behavioral problems among school-age children on Native American reservations.Based on results of a study of the Cherokee Nation,which of the following proposals will you make?

A) implement a program of alcohol and drug counseling among expectant mothers
B) legalize gambling and allow the tribe to retain the profits
C) raise the minimum wage on the reservation
D) make the work requirements for receiving welfare more stringent

Question 15

People who are born into poverty and ultimately raise their own children in poverty learn how to live in poverty.They learn the norms and values associated with that particular way of life.Oscar Lewis called this:

A) the War on Poverty.
B) the informal social safety net.
C) the culture of poverty.
D) cascading pathologies.

Question 16

Susan Mayer,author of What Money Can't Buy: Family Income and Children's Life Chances,found in her study:

A) confirmation of reports of the devastation of poverty.
B) that poverty caused many social ills.
C) that the effect of income on children's outcomes has been overstated.
D) that increased incomes made big differences in children's outcomes.

Question 17

What population was Oscar Lewis studying when he coined the term "culture of poverty"?

A) blacks
B) single mothers on welfare
C) the underclass
D) Mexicans

Question 18

The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was also referred to as the:

A) "end of welfare as we know it."
B) War on Welfare.
C) negative income tax.
D) War on Poverty.

Question 19

One of the results of the negative income tax experiment was that increasing numbers of women left their marriages.This was because:

A) they were less financially dependent on their (possibly)abusive husbands.
B) the tax code provided a significant advantage to singles versus couples.
C) women found it easier to open independent businesses.
D) new laws made divorce easier,but the trend was mistakenly blamed on the negative income tax.

Question 20

In the 1980s,journalist Ken Auletta coined the term "underclass." He said that the underclass was different from the "rest of us" in that they:

A) tended to be more dangerous.
B) tended to have higher levels of education but did not use this to their advantage.
C) for genetic reasons,were more susceptible to perverse incentives.
D) had lower IQs.

Question 21

Aroon is doing fieldwork on the topic of poverty in First World nations.Because he understands the difference between absolute and relative poverty,he expects that poor people in wealthier countries will have:

A) the same nutritional opportunities as Third World poor people.
B) material goods such as flat screen TVs and cell phones.
C) sizable retirement savings accounts.
D) incomes of less than a dollar a day.

Question 22

The Moving to Opportunity study didn't show any change in which factors between the control and treatment groups?

A) test scores and truancy
B) injuries and asthma
C) employment and earnings
D) violence and health

Question 23

From her research,Susan Mayer concluded that it was not poverty that mattered,but rather:

A) our desires.
B) our perception of money.
C) poverty in the midst of growing wealth.
D) the media.

Question 24

A family that cannot afford the basic necessities of life or purchase enough to physically sustain its members lives in:

A) objective poverty.
B) marginal poverty.
C) absolute poverty.
D) relative poverty.

Question 25

Matthew Desmond predicts that increasing ________ and the cascading challenges surrounding it will be a major problem for the poor today and in the near future.

A) incarceration
B) generational poverty
C) unaffordable health care
D) eviction

Question 26

Gautreaux v.Chicago Housing Authority was a class action suit that alleged that public housing was,in effect:

A) keeping the underclass poor.
B) government-sponsored segregation.
C) keeping the poor on public assistance.
D) not up to sanitary code.

Question 27

In her study of real estate and inequality,graduate student Shania looks for the "Aspen effect." She is looking for:

A) industries that,like ski tourism in Colorado,produce extreme real estate prices in their regions.
B) workers who must live very far from their jobs due to real estate prices.
C) poor families who face mountains of challenges in their lives.
D) corporations that allow extreme differences between top and bottom earners.

Question 28

What was the problem with the Gautreaux Assisted Housing Program?

A) There weren't enough houses for all the families.
B) It produced no improvement or changes.
C) Families brought destructive behaviors from the ghetto to the new neighborhood.
D) Participants were self-selected.

Question 29

Herrnstein and Murray questioned whether poverty was a result of ________ conditions or whether it actually caused limited opportunities for children.

A) educational
B) environmental
C) biological
D) structural

Question 30

What is one shortcoming of the current calculation of the poverty rate?

A) Its measure of wealth may be inaccurate.
B) It focuses on income only and ignores wealth.
C) There are currently no surveys to assess people's wealth.
D) It focuses on wealth only and ignores income.

Question 31

Doug has a "rags to riches" story.He grew up a poor kid in rural West Virginia and now is an officer in the U.S.Army.His children roll their eyes every time a Domino's Pizza commercial comes on.Doug tells stories about how he played with sticks and dirt as a kid,concluding,"Tom Monaghan is right when he says,________."

A) 'Poor living was the greatest living I ever did'
B) 'Reading great literature is key to my success'
C) 'Some people are given the genes to succeed,no matter where they start from'
D) 'Entrepreneurship is the American dream'

Question 32

Income-based measurements are deceptive because they hide the real influence of:

A) wealth.
B) social status.
C) employment.
D) education.

Question 33

The Moving to Opportunity study found that those in the group who received assistance in relocating and life-skills training in addition to housing vouchers:

A) experienced hostility from their new neighborhoods.
B) were not testable because many participants could not be found later.
C) were no different than those in the control group.
D) experienced less stress and better health.

Question 34

One of the richest men in America,Tom Monaghan,the founder of Domino's Pizza,thought being poor was "one of the most exciting things in the world" because:

A) it is possible to get by on very little if you live very frugally.
B) it provides great motivation to work hard and get rich.
C) poor people are more willing to work at his company.
D) he believes in Social Darwinism.

Question 35

What is one fundamental change that critics argue is necessary for reforming the poverty threshold calculation?

A) including all possible sources of income,both documented and under the table
B) using the cost of food as a baseline for poverty calculations
C) reformulating it from scratch every few years because what is considered a necessity changes over time
D) using a measure of absolute poverty instead of relative poverty

Question 36

When the official poverty line was first set,food made up the largest percentage of household budgets.In today's society,what now makes up the largest percentage?

A) transportation
B) housing
C) heating homes
D) health care

Question 37

Mollie Orshansky used the U.S.Department of Agriculture's recommendations for the minimum amount of healthy food,estimated the cost for a variety of family types,and multiplied this figure by a factor of three to measure:

A) relative poverty.
B) the poverty threshold.
C) the official poverty line.
D) absolute poverty.

Question 38

Gated communities are an example of which factor that interacts with wealth inequality to increase the gap between the rich and the poor?

A) racism
B) redlining
C) real estate equality
D) economic segregation

Question 39

Which term describes the measurement of poverty where a household's income falls below the necessary level to purchase food to physically sustain its members?

A) relative poverty
B) absolute poverty
C) poverty threshold
D) official poverty rate

Question 40

James Rosenbaum found that people who moved out of the ghetto and into low-poverty areas:

A) had no change in their life situation.
B) had a better employment situation.
C) destroyed the neighborhood within a short time.
D) scared away the previous residents.

Question 41

One of the explanations of continued racism in America is that we have:

A) found that racial minorities have lower IQs (Herrnstein).
B) become postracial,like Puerto Rico.
C) imported a colonized population (through slavery)and continued to exclude them.
D) found that racism is a biological trait,something that is impossible to eliminate.

Question 42

A higher Gini coefficient score means:

A) more inequality.
B) less inequality.
C) higher poverty.
D) lower poverty.

Question 43

A policy maker wants to recalculate poverty based on a set percentage of the median income for each metropolitan area in the United States instead of a national average.This is an example of ________ poverty.

A) absolute
B) relative
C) median
D) variable

Question 44

Your text lists several explanations for why the United States has the highest inequality of all English-speaking nations.Which of the following is an explanation your text cites?

A) the existence of more important issues to focus on
B) feudalism in U.S.history
C) racism within U.S.borders
D) state-level policies

Question 45

How has the history of feudalism actually reduced the level of inequality in many modern European nations?

A) It has instilled a recognition of the importance of family values.
B) It has eliminated class differences.
C) It thwarted the rise of capitalism.
D) It created a tradition of state paternalism,which set the stage for the modern welfare state.

Question 46

Which of the following is one of the explanations cited for the vast disparity of wealth in the United States mentioned in your text?

A) the cost of the military
B) sexism
C) institutional structure
D) the Civil War

Question 47

Explain the culture of poverty thesis.How well does it explain the persistence of poverty in the United States? Use evidence and examples to support your claim.

Question 48

Why is the official formula for calculating the poverty line outdated?

A) The dollar amount has not been increased in a decade.
B) The minimum wage has increased.
C) The poor have many unrecorded sources of income.
D) Housing now makes up a larger proportion of household budgets than in the past.

Question 49

If Country A has a Gini coefficient of .37 and Country B has a Gini coefficient of .49,which country has more inequality?

A) Country A has more inequality.
B) The Gini coefficient doesn't measure inequality.
C) Country B has more inequality.
D) Country A and Country B have essentially the same level of inequality.

Question 50

Why is it difficult for almost half of Americans to save for retirement?

A) They are living beyond their means.
B) Financial pressures are too high.
C) They don't have pension or retirement savings plans.
D) They have unlimited needs and wants.

Question 51

U.S.Senator Thompson proposes an "incentivized IRA" bill that would encourage savings among people who do not have an employer-sponsored retirement plan.One key incentive is:

A) making a single choice to automatically save from each paycheck rather than deciding whether or not to save when each paycheck arrives.
B) searching for a better job,even while staying at one's current job.
C) mandating an earlier retirement age to strengthen the need to start saving earlier.
D) creating a negative income tax so that lower-income workers get cash back each year that they can put into savings.

Question 52

Seng is a single mother struggling to raise her family with a low income.In 2006,the Pension Protection Act was passed.This act will not help Seng,because,like 68% of working age Americans,she:

A) can't afford to contribute her part of this matching retirement plan.
B) doesn't know that the act was passed.
C) doesn't have an employer-sponsored pension or retirement plan.
D) spends too much on cheap consumer goods.

Question 53

What percentage of American employees work for an employer that does not offer a traditional pension or retirement plan?

A) 10 percent
B) almost 25 percent
C) almost 50 percent
D) 90 percent

Question 54

The Gini coefficient is:

A) a comparison of poverty rates.
B) the U.S.poverty line.
C) a measure of economic inequality.
D) a measure of poverty rates.

Question 55

Jane is a single mother in poverty.She has intermittent,low-paying employment.Because she is forced to move a lot,she hasn't established a reliable social network for support or friendships for her children.To determine what effect this has on her children's outcomes,what factors would the parenting stress hypothesis examine?

A) Jane's ability to secure the basic necessities of life,including food,clothing,and socioemotional support for her children
B) household stress levels and their effect on Jane's patience and parenting style
C) welfare policies in the city Jane moved to
D) parental and children's IQ

Question 56

Recent U.S.Census data show that some U.S.citizens have very high incomes while others do not.This data predicts that of every hundred children,________ live(s)in a household with an income below the poverty line.

A) one
B) two
C) twenty
D) forty

Question 57

What does Susan Mayer argue are the effects of income on poor children? How could her research affect the programs (current and future)designed to help poor children?

Question 58

Consider this chapter's paradox: Sometimes attempts to help the poor create perverse incentives that induce more poverty in the long run.What are perverse incentives? Offer an example that illustrates the meaning.Describe a governmental policy or program that uses a better model,one that avoids perverse incentives.

Question 59

What is the key that government could use to get low-income earners to commit to saving?

A) get them to use a small percentage of their tax refund
B) offer added incentives
C) get them to commit to saving future earnings
D) make it mandatory for employers to have a retirement fund

Question 60

How does politics affect the level of inequality in the United States?

A) The U.S.political system is fragmented,making it difficult to establish a comprehensive safety net.
B) The welfare state in the United States is more developed than that in European countries.
C) Capitalist institutions make it possible to maintain low levels of inequality.
D) The lack of a feudal history makes inequality less of an issue in the United States.

Question 61

What do Murray and Herrnstein suggest is the cause of poverty? If this argument were supported by policy makers,what kinds of policies might be developed to address poverty? How would the self-fulfilling prophecy fit into this?

Question 62

The parenting stress hypothesis is a paradigm that looks at the psychological aspects of poverty and its effects on children's life chances.Discuss this and apply it to Marlin's situation growing up in poverty.What might be some ways to avoid Marlin's problems?

Question 63

Explain the official poverty line of the United States,which was created by Mollie Orshansky.What is one reason this is a good way to measure poverty? What is one of its important limitations?

Question 64

Explain the reason for Gautreaux v.Chicago Housing Authority and its outcome.What are some possible future results of the lawsuit? Include a discussion on the Moving to Opportunity study,which was influenced by this case.