Deck 3: Poverty and Welfare

Question 1

The Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601 is the forerunner of how the public has addressed assisting the poor to this very day, especially in regard to which distinction?

A) the deserving and undeserving poor
B) the eligible and less eligible
C) women with children and men
D) the impotent and the able-bodied

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What statement might best fit the most prevalent opinion for why certain individuals live in poverty?

A) They bring it on themselves.
B) It is a Black problem.
C) Poor people don't like to work.
D) Republicans force them to live that way.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Lone mountain men are celebrated in such films as Jeremiah Johnson (1972) as the epitome of the "rugged individual"? What really opened the American West?

A) cooperative group ventures
B) wagon trains
C) rugged individuals
D) government-sponsored settlements

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Why does society shift the burden for poverty onto the individual, especially the able-bodied?

A) It absolves society of any blame and of the economics of remediation.
B) Because much of what society thinks is influenced by Calvinism.
C) To encourage people to be moral and so work for the good of society.
D) The work ethic continues to influence society's mindset long after explicitly religious rationales.

Question 5

Statistical evidence disproves which long-held belief about the poor women with children?

A) the many welfare stereotypes
B) solely urban phenomenon
C) high rates of out-of-wedlock births
D) poor money management

Question 6

Which of the following is an example of phantom welfare?

A) tax benefits for the wealthy
B) hidden subsidies for the poor
C) corporate bailouts
D) food stamps

Question 7

If a policy maker held the perspective that government should help only if the family is unable to, this would be an example of a(n):

A) residual view
B) institutional view
C) pacifying approach

Question 8

Why is a single mother who works full-time a victim of her own "success"?

A) Society also expects her to be a full-time mother.
B) She still cannot support her family.
C) Society expects her to be a stay-at-home mother.
D) Her work ethic is not in parenting.

Question 9

Although the poor are perceived in terms of "us versus them," what do surveys reveal about their work ethic?

A) They share the same values of the non-poor.
B) They are victims of the work ethic myth.
C) The poor are just as accomplished as working people.
D) The poor are willing to do with less public assistance.

Question 10

The increase in the number of female-headed households, especially among the Black urban poor, is often attributed to welfare programs. What is a more realistic explanation?

A) The decline in economic opportunities for Black males.
B) There has been a cultural de-emphasis of matrimony since the 1960s.
C) Women are more employable.
D) Unemployed, unmarried male heads leave because they are less likely to be approved for assistance.

Question 11

Given the residual approach to government assistance programs, does the social stigma of poverty serve an economic purpose?

A) Yes, it maximizes individual responsibility for poverty and further justifies a conservative collective responsibility and remediation.
B) Yes, people who feel bad about themselves work harder and people who do work feel better.
C) Yes, stigmatized people will not seek benefits and so make for a leaner public response to poverty.
D) No, it simply makes it impossible for the poor to feel comfortable with receiving benefits.

Question 12

Of all the various welfare reforms enacted by the federal and state governments during the 1990s, which major change might have appealed to both conservative and liberal viewpoints?

A) The shift to noncash assistance removed the onus of welfare checks while adding alternative forms of assistance.
B) It removed the popular view of people getting free money.
C) It alleviated the inadequate response of government welfare programs.
D) Both liberals and conservatives encourage self-sufficiency.

Question 13

What is the popular perception of public assistance programs into which one contributes (e.g. paycheck deductions such as Social Security and Medicare)?

A) They are perceived as a right.
B) They are viewed as providing a handout.
C) Most people fear that they are running out of money.
D) They are an entitlement that earns interest over time.

Question 14

Was the Reform Act of 1996 a success in reducing the number of dependent people and lowering the cost of public welfare?

A) While cash benefits dropped, non-cash grew, especially in response to a worsening economy.
B) The 1996 reforms saved enormous amounts of money and cut red tape as well.
C) Means testing resulted in fewer variations among the states in their coverage.
D) The introduction of in-kind programs proved to be a cost-saving innovation.

Question 15

If the welfare reforms of the 1990s met one goal that shows its mixed success, it would most likely be?

A) increasing the ranks of the working poor
B) providing a few good jobs for women
C) the increase in red tape and means testing
D) the omission of rural America