Question 1

Most spending on social welfare programs in the United States goes to programs for:

Accepted Answer

A)   poor people.
B)   middle-class people of all ages.
C)   the elderly.
D)   low-income working people. C

Question 2

For many decades following the presidency of Andrew Jackson, the United States had no central bank and thus no means of implementing national monetary policy due largely to opposition from:

Accepted Answer

A)   Federalist leaders who sought to keep control in the hands of private, state-chartered banks.
B)   monied elites who largely profited from an unstructured system, despite the occasional, ruinous financial panic.
C)   followers of Jackson, who won the presidency by railing against urban financial elites.
D)   agricultural interests, who feared being dominated by urban, industrial capitalists. D

Question 3

Although the networks and infrastructure that keep the Internet humming are often products of private industry, its origins lie in networks developed by the American federal government, largely in connection with national defense, as well as research.Today, of course, most of the country's fastest-growing businesses are Internet companies. From what you have read, how unusual was this digital development in relation to how provision of public goods has supported business and technological development over time?

Accepted Answer

A)   Highly unusual, since public goods usually just help individuals, and not businesses, get from place to place, or communicate, more efficiently
B)   Somewhat unusual, since private industry has most often handled such large development on its own
C)   Not at all unusual, since the federal government has repeatedly helped build or support markets through pubic goods and service provision over time
D)   Highly unusual, since the military has been reluctant to share technological innovations due to national security concerns C

Question 4

What are the tools of economic policy?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are the tools of economic policy?...

Question 5

In 2010, Congress passed tougher financial regulations in response to harsh criticism of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for what analysts charged was ____________________ prior to the recessionary years of 2008-2009.

Accepted Answer

A)   the SEC's driving the financial sector to near collapse through overregulation
B)   weak SEC oversight of its financial sector
C)   the SEC's allowing new monopolies to develop in the banking and finance sectors
D)   failing to enforce provisions of a reform bill, passed a few years earlier,

Question 6

Medicare and Social Security, which are social programs that people pay for through what are legally referred to as tax "contributions" (even though those contributions are mandatory), are known as _____________ programs.

Accepted Answer

A)   confiscatory entitlement
B)   contributory
C)   mandatory welfare
D)   discretionary

Question 7

Why did government initiate the welfare state? What factors have contributed to its growth?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why did government initiate the welfare state?...

Question 8

What powers does the federal government have to battle economic crises and recessions? And how, at least, did it respond to the last major crisis, the recession fueled by the collapse of the subprime mortgage industry and a subsequent stock market crash? Do you think the government did enough to battle unemployment and get the economy moving again then? Would America be ready for another crisis today?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What powers does the federal government have...

Question 9

Describe the government's role in creating the foundation for a market economy.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe the government's role in creating the...

Question 10

A federal program that provides uniform minimum monthly benefits to people with little to no income who are elderly, blind, or disabled is:

Accepted Answer

A)   Medicaid.
B)   Supplemental Security Income (SSI) .
C)   Medicare.
D)   Social Security.

Question 11

Who controls the Federal Reserve System?

Accepted Answer

A)   Largely the president, with the Council of Economic Advisers and the Senate playing advisory roles
B)   Presidents, who have the power to change system policies through executive orders and control of its board members and chair
C)   The system's chair and board, who are appointed by presidents (with Senate confirmation) , but who make decisions independently
D)   Institutional members, although presidents can have some influence over them through appointed chairs and board members

Question 12

Government makes a market economy possible.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Worker contributions to Social Security accumulate in a personal account much as a private annuity does.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

Because nearly all social policies are redistributive-that is, they take money from one group and give it to another-they are hard to pass.If a proposed social policy that would provide benefits to a large group of people is adopted:

Accepted Answer

A)   it tends to stick around for a few years, before being torn to pieces through incremental legislation and executive orders, unless it helps the wealthiest Americans.
B)   corporate-funded independent expenditure groups will carry out long-term, extensive marketing campaigns to have it repealed.
C)   it generally tends to stick around on the statute books, even when opponents continue to decry it.
D)   Congress will have to wait until an economic crisis hits to defund the social policy.

Question 15

Each year the federal government spends more money than it takes in from revenue, as it has since the late 1990s.The difference is added to the _________________, or the total amount of money owed by the U.S.government, which sat at $20 trillion in late 2017.

Accepted Answer

A)   national debt
B)   national deficit
C)   federal notes receivable
D)   federal debt ceiling

Question 16

Pell Grants, which help pay for the higher education tuition costs of low-to-moderate-income families, cover about 30 percent of the cost of a typical university education today, compared to about 80 percent in the 1970s.What is behind the decrease?

Accepted Answer

A)   Congress has refused to dedicate more spending to the program over time.
B)   There has been a dramatic increase in student housing costs, especially for those living in dormitories.
C)   More students have sought and received grants in recent years, even as Congress has kept the program's funding level flat.
D)   The size of the federal grants has not kept up with rising tuition prices.

Question 17

Discuss how the federal government has been involved in American primary and secondary education over time, and especially since the 1950s.Outline and analyze how the federal role has evolved, paying special attention to any efforts that were notably controversial-and why they were.Where does the federal role look like today?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss how the federal government has been...

Question 18

The federal government's annual taxing and spending decisions are important to the American economy because:

Accepted Answer

A)   they directly and almost instantaneously affect Federal Reserve decisions about the discount rate.
B)   decisions about how much to tax and spend affect the overall health of the economy.
C)   they can directly increase or reduce the risks that banks run in making loans to consumers and businesses.
D)   poor decisions or unintended consequences can keep the Federal Reserve from effectively fighting inflation when it must.

Question 19

The world's increasingly interconnected economy relies upon the idea that individual countries should only cooperate with other national economic institutions when it is in their best interest to do so.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of regressive and progressive tax policies.Which one would you recommend and why?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of regressive...

Exam 13: Introduction to Public Policy

Most spending on social welfare programs in the United States goes to programs for:

For many decades following the presidency of Andrew Jackson, the United States had no central bank and thus no means of implementing national monetary policy due largely to opposition from:

What are the tools of economic policy?

In 2010, Congress passed tougher financial regulations in response to harsh criticism of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for what analysts charged was ____________________ prior to the recessionary years of 2008-2009.

Medicare and Social Security, which are social programs that people pay for through what are legally referred to as tax "contributions" (even though those contributions are mandatory) , are known as _____________ programs.

Why did government initiate the welfare state? What factors have contributed to its growth?

Describe the government's role in creating the foundation for a market economy.

A federal program that provides uniform minimum monthly benefits to people with little to no income who are elderly, blind, or disabled is:

Who controls the Federal Reserve System?

Government makes a market economy possible.

Worker contributions to Social Security accumulate in a personal account much as a private annuity does.

Because nearly all social policies are redistributive-that is, they take money from one group and give it to another-they are hard to pass.If a proposed social policy that would provide benefits to a large group of people is adopted:

Each year the federal government spends more money than it takes in from revenue, as it has since the late 1990s.The difference is added to the _________________, or the total amount of money owed by the U.S.government, which sat at $20 trillion in late 2017.

Pell Grants, which help pay for the higher education tuition costs of low-to-moderate-income families, cover about 30 percent of the cost of a typical university education today, compared to about 80 percent in the 1970s.What is behind the decrease?

The federal government's annual taxing and spending decisions are important to the American economy because:

The world's increasingly interconnected economy relies upon the idea that individual countries should only cooperate with other national economic institutions when it is in their best interest to do so.

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of regressive and progressive tax policies.Which one would you recommend and why?