Deck 38: Poverty and Welfare

Question 1

Which of the following is the group with the highest poverty rate?

A)Blacks in general.
B)Hispanics in general.
C)Children in general.
D)Female-headed households with children.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is true about poor populations?

A)There are fewer poor whites than poor blacks.
B)The poor are disproportionately white.
C)The poor are less likely to be children than the elderly.
D)The poor are less likely to have graduated from high school.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The majority of the poor are

A)white, non-Hispanic.
B)Hispanic.
C)black, non-Hispanic.
D)no one ethnic group makes up the majority.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The poverty line goes up as the size of the household increases. A doubling of the family size

A)more than doubles the poverty line.
B)less than doubles the poverty line.
C)exactly doubles the poverty line.

Question 5

The percentage of people in households with income under that which is sufficient to provide a family with a minimally adequate standard of living is the

A)poverty line.
B)poverty rate.
C)poverty gap.
D)poverty state.

Question 6

The level of income sufficient to provide a family with a minimally adequate standard of living is the

A)poverty line.
B)poverty rate.
C)poverty gap.
D)poverty state.

Question 7

Which of the following is true about poor populations?

A)There are more poor whites than poor blacks.
B)The poor are disproportionately white.
C)The poor are less likely to be children than the elderly.
D)The poor are more likely to have graduated from high school.

Question 8

Which of the following is true about poor populations?

A)There are fewer poor whites than poor blacks.
B)The poor are disproportionately black and Hispanic.
C)The poor are less likely to be children than the elderly.
D)The poor are more likely to have graduated from high school.

Question 9

Which of the following racial/ethnic populations make up the greatest numbers of those in poverty?

A)Whites (non-Hispanic).
B)Blacks (non-Hispanic).
C)Hispanics.
D)Asians.

Question 10

If the poverty line is $16,000 for a family of four and the U.S. has 100 million such families, with 25 million of these families having incomes of $12,000 and 75 million having incomes of $20,000. This means the poverty gap would be

A)zero, because the income numbers average out at $16,000.
B)negative, because there are more above the poverty line than below it.
C)$100 billion, because there are 25 million families $4000 below the poverty line.
D)$400 billion, because there are 100 million families and many are $4000 below the poverty line.

Question 11

Which of the following is true about poor populations?

A)There are fewer poor whites than poor blacks.
B)The poor are disproportionately white.
C)The poor are more likely to be children than the elderly.
D)The poor are more likely to have graduated from high school.

Question 12

The poverty rate has hovered between ______ since the middle 1960s.

A)5-10%
B)11-15%
C)16-20%
D)20-25%

Question 13

The poverty gap is

A)that level of income sufficient to provide a family with a minimally adequate standard of living.
B)the percentage of people in households with income under the poverty line.
C)the total amount of money that would have to be transferred to households in poverty to lift them out of poverty.
D)the amount of money the poor must earn from work.

Question 14

The poverty rate is

A)that level of income sufficient to provide a family with a minimally adequate standard of living.
B)the percentage of people in households with income under the poverty line.
C)the total amount of money that would have to be transferred to households in poverty to raise them out of poverty.
D)the amount of money the poor must earn from work.

Question 15

If the poverty line for a family of 4 is $16,000 then the poverty line for a family of two is likely to be

A)greater than $16,000.
B)less than $16,000 but greater than $8,000.
C)exactly $8,000.
D)less than $8,000.

Question 16

If the poverty line for a family of 2 is $10,000 then the poverty line for a family of 4 is likely to be

A)greater than $20,000.
B)less than $20,000 but greater than $10,000.
C)exactly $10,000.
D)less than $10,000.

Question 17

Which of the following is true about poor populations?

A)There are more poor whites than poor blacks.
B)The poor are disproportionately black and Hispanic.
C)The poor are more likely to be children than the elderly.
D)All of the options are correct.

Question 18

As of 2014, the poverty gap in the U.S. was roughly

A)$16 billion.
B)$96 billion.
C)$862 billion.
D)$8.62 trillion.

Question 19

The total amount of money that would have to be transferred to households in poverty to raise them out of poverty is the

A)poverty line.
B)poverty rate.
C)poverty gap.
D)poverty state.

Question 20

The poverty line is

A)that level of income just sufficient to provide a family with a minimally adequate standard of living.
B)the percentage of households with income insufficient to provide an adequate standard of living.
C)the amount of money that would have to be transferred to poor households to lift them out of poverty.
D)the amount of money the poor earn from work.

Question 21

The 1960s "war on poverty" is generally credited with

A)the entirety of the drop in the poverty rate during the decade.
B)none of the drop in the poverty rate during the decade.
C)only a part of the drop in the poverty rate during the decade.
D)increasing the poverty rate during the decade.

Question 22

The poverty rate among female-headed households is around

A)2%.
B)11%.
C)33%.
D)70%.

Question 23

Since 1970 the poverty rate has

A)decreased steadily and constantly in good times and bad.
B)increased steadily and constantly in good times and bad.
C)been high in good times and low in bad times.
D)been low in good times and high in bad times.

Question 24

Which of the following programs are in-kind?

A)AFDC/TANF
B)EITC
C)WIC
D)AFDC/TANF and EITC

Question 25

Which of the following groups is under-represented in the poverty statistics relative to their overall U.S. population?

A)Whites (non-Hispanic).
B)Blacks (non-Hispanic).
C)Hispanics.
D)Asians

Question 26

In cash transfers differ from in-kind transfers in that

A)the former offers greater control over spending by the poor on inappropriate things.
B)the former is more cost-effective and less bureaucratic.
C)the former is more certain to target children effectively.
D)none of these, the two are identical.

Question 27

Because of an increase in the work-force participation rate for women, the availability of uncompensated child care (free care by aunts, sisters, and grandmothers)has become less available to poor women so as a consequence the fact that child care must now be paid for suggests that the

A)poverty line should be revised upward.
B)poverty line should be revised downward.
C)poverty gap is overstated.
D)poverty rate is overstated.

Question 28

Which of the following programs are in cash?

A)AFDC/TANF
B)EITC
C)WIC
D)AFDC/TANF and EITC

Question 29

Which of the following is true?

A)The poverty rate among women is higher than that of men.
B)The poverty rate among female-headed households is greater than among married households.
C)The number of poor whites is less than the number of poor blacks.
D)The poverty rate among women is higher than that of men and the poverty rate among female-headed households is greater than among married households.

Question 30

Ignoring the issue of whether the CPI overstates the cost of living generally, the fact that the poverty line is adjusted using the overall CPI to adjust for overall inflation means that if the costs of necessities rises

A)faster than the overall CPI the poverty line is overstated.
B)faster than the overall CPI the poverty line is understated.
C)slower than the overall CPI the poverty rate is understated.
D)slower than the overall CPI the poverty rate is overstated.

Question 31

The fact that the poverty line does not account for day care costs suggests that it is set too

A)high and the poverty rate is therefore understated.
B)high and the poverty rate is therefore overstated.
C)low and the poverty rate is therefore understated.
D)low and the poverty rate is therefore overstated.

Question 32

Because it costs more to live in cities than it does to live in rural areas the

A)poverty line is set too high in cities and too low in rural areas.
B)poverty line is set too low in cities and too high in rural areas.
C)poverty rate is overstated in cities and understated in rural areas.
D)true poverty rate is higher than the government reports it to be.

Question 33

Which of the following is false?

A)The poverty rate among the elderly is greater than the poverty rate among children.
B)The poverty rate among women is greater than the poverty rate among men.
C)The poverty rate among whites is greater than the poverty rate among blacks.
D)The poverty rate among Hispanics is greater than the poverty rate among whites.

Question 34

Because of an increase in the work-force participation rate for women, the availability of uncompensated child care (free care by aunts, sisters, and grandmothers)has become less available to poor women so as a consequence the fact that child care must now be paid for suggests that the

A)poverty is not a problem.
B)poverty line should be revised downward.
C)poverty gap is overstated.
D)poverty rate is understated.

Question 35

If the poverty line is set too low, the official poverty rate will be

A)lower than the true level.
B)unaffected by this problem.
C)higher than the true level.
D)negative.

Question 36

Which of the following is targeted narrowly to pregnant women and their infant children?

A)AFDC
B)TANF
C)WIC
D)SNAP (Food Stamps)

Question 37

Which of the following groups has the lowest poverty rate?

A)Whites.
B)The elderly.
C)Children.
D)People with bachelor's degrees.

Question 38

Which of the following is true?

A)The poverty rate among the elderly is greater than the poverty rate among children.
B)The poverty rate among men is greater than the poverty rate among women.
C)The poverty rate among blacks is greater than the poverty rate among whites.
D)The poverty rate among Hispanics is less than the poverty rate among whites.

Question 39

Which of the following is the most costly program for the poor?

A)Medicaid
B)AFDC/TANF
C)WIC
D)SNAP (Food Stamps)

Question 40

If the poverty line is set too high, the official poverty rate will be

A)lower than the true level.
B)unaffected by this problem.
C)higher than the true level.
D)negative.

Question 41

Some economists believe that poverty can be good for the economy, since

A)the desire to avoid poverty provides a powerful incentive to "work hard and play by the rules".
B)countries with high rates of economic growth since the 1980s tend to have less income inequality.
C)poverty seems to encourage gambling.
D)poverty discourages child-bearing, leaving women with more time to work.

Question 42

The 1996 Welfare reform laws had the impact of

A)eliminating poverty.
B)doubling the poverty rate.
C)increasing work by welfare recipients.
D)halving the number of people in poverty.

Question 43

The incentives built into nearly all welfare programs

A)encourage work.
B)encourage family planning.
C)encourage marriage.
D)none of the above.

Question 44

SSI differs from other programs in that

A)it is administered by the states rather than the Federal government.
B)it is administered by the Internal Revenue Service rather than a human services agency.
C)it is part of the Social Security system.
D)it provides actual food.

Question 45

Which of the following is a goal of a welfare system?

A)To provide an adequate standard of living.
B)To reduce the number of children born.
C)To make recipients happy.
D)None of the above.

Question 46

In 2014 the fraction of families living in poverty that were headed by single mothers of children under age 18 is

A)22%.
B)34%.
C)45%.
D)68%.

Question 47

The incentives built into nearly all welfare programs

A)encourage work.
B)encourage family planning.
C)discourage marriage.
D)encourage savings.

Question 48

In 2014, the poverty line was

A)$9,373 for one person, and $13,500 for a family of four.
B)$12,701 for one person, and $24,230 for a family of four.
C)$12,013 for one person, and $15,769 for a family of four.
D)$15,769 for one person, and $32,463 for a family of four.

Question 49

A wealthy person may legally use SNAP (food stamps)and WIC vouchers

A)because the programs are not means tested.
B)because they may have children who are ill.
C)when they are caring for foster children.
D)when they have trouble making ends meet.

Question 50

The incentives built into nearly all welfare programs

A)discourage work.
B)encourage family planning.
C)encourage marriage.
D)encourage savings.

Question 51

The economic evidence suggests that the incentives in nearly all welfare programs are

A)so powerful that welfare has unambiguously made problems worse.
B)actually counter to what was thought: the existence of welfare reduces the need for it.
C)mixed; some studies show that welfare makes problems worse but most do not.
D)carefully structured to encourage the highest moral standards among recipients.

Question 52

In 2014 we spent ____ on in-kind transfers and ____ on in cash transfers to help the poor.

A)$100 billion, $91 billion
B)$641 billion, $148 billion
C)$910 billion, $381 billion
D)$1,400 billion, $391 billion

Question 53

Evidence suggests that the 1996 Welfare reform laws increased work by welfare recipients through

A)increased use of work requirements only.
B)increased use of work incentives only.
C)increased use of work requirements and incentives.
D)pure coincidence.

Question 54

The incentives built into nearly all welfare programs

A)encourage work.
B)discourage family planning.
C)encourage marriage.
D)encourage savings.

Question 55

The incentives built into nearly all welfare programs

A)encourage work.
B)encourage family planning.
C)encourage marriage.
D)discourage savings.

Question 56

The EITC differs from other programs in that

A)it is administered by the states rather than the Federal government.
B)it is administered by the Internal Revenue Service rather than a human services agency.
C)it is part of the Social Security system.
D)it provides actual food.

Question 57

Which of the following is a goal of a welfare system?

A)To make recipients happy.
B)To reduce the number of children born.
C)To provide an incentive to leave the system.
D)To stimulate economic growth.

Question 58

In 2014, the ethnic group experiencing the highest poverty rate was

A)white, non-Hispanic.
B)Hispanic.
C)black, non-Hispanic.
D)another race.

Question 59

Most of the reduction in poverty rates since World War II occurred as a result of the

A)1940s War On Poverty.
B)1996 welfare reforms.
C)end of "welfare as we know it".
D)1960s War On Poverty.

Question 60

Which of the following is a goal of a welfare system?

A)To make recipients happy.
B)To maintain political support by not being overly expensive.
C)To reduce the number of children born.
D)None of the above.

Question 61

Because the AFDC program reduced benefits by almost $1 for every $1 earned, a single parent of two small children requiring day care would have to

A)resort to crime just to make ends meet.
B)work fulltime earning at least one-half the minimum wage to be better off working than on welfare.
C)work fulltime earning at least the minimum wage to be better off working than on welfare.
D)work fulltime earning at least twice the minimum wage to be better off working than on welfare.

Question 62

Since the year 1959, the poverty rate has

A)increased very slightly.
B)increased significantly.
C)remained almost unchanged.
D)decreased significantly.

Question 63

Through its anti-poverty programs, the U.S. currently spends $789 billion attempting to

A)achieve European standards of bureaucratic efficiency.
B)increase the median educational attainment of welfare recipients by two years.
C)eliminate a "poverty gap" of only $96 billion.
D)"end welfare as we know it".

Question 64

After accounting for taxes and various welfare programs, economist Timothy Smeeding estimates that the average European country's anti-poverty programs reduce their poverty by 60% while

A)U)S. anti-poverty programs reduce poverty by only 26%.
B)U)S. anti-poverty programs reduce poverty by more than 83%.
C)U)S. anti-poverty programs actually increase poverty by 6%.
D)U)S. anti-poverty programs have virtually eliminated poverty among sociologists.

Question 65

In 2014, the poverty rate among children under age 18 was approximately

A)21percent.
B)29 percent.
C)36 percent.
D)45 percent.

Question 66

Since the year 1969, the poverty rate has

A)increased very slightly.
B)increased significantly.
C)remained almost unchanged.
D)decreased significantly.

Question 67

In 2014 children under 18 were ___ percent of the general population, but ____ percent of those who are poor.

A)38.2; 52.3
B)23.3; 33.3
C)15.2; 43.8
D)15.2; 52.3

Question 68

Economist Timothy Smeeding reported that income inequality

A)was higher in the U.S. than in any of the European countries studied.
B)was lower in the U.S. than in any of the European countries studied.
C)was roughly the same in both the U.S. and in the European countries studied.
D)seems to increase whenever it is studied scientifically.

Question 69

Economist Timothy Smeeding reported that appropriately-adjusted poverty rates were

A)lower in the U.S. than in eight of the nine European countries studied.
B)higher in the U.S. than in eight of the nine European countries studied.
C)roughly the same in both the U.S. and in eight of the nine European countries studied.
D)higher in eight of the nine European countries studied than anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa.