Question 1

A public policy is a law, rule, statute, regulation, or order that:

Accepted Answer

A)  is crafted to meet only the social or economic ends of a number of public officials. 
B)  expresses the government's goals. 
C)  must serve the public interest, if it is to be accepted. 
D)  must be acceptable to all Americans, if it is to last.

Question 2

By delivering social benefits through the tax code (such as with the Earned Income Tax Credit or individual coverage subsidies in the case of the Affordable Care Act), delegating authority to the state governments (such as with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), and relying on government contractors or the private sector to provide government benefits, policymakers:

Accepted Answer

A)  succeeded in attempts to squelch an ever-increasing abundance of calls for limited government and reductions in federal spending. 
B)  increased the efficiency of government policy programs by harnessing the power of competition and free-market forces in their policy reform or design efforts. 
C)  provided more ways to administer, implement, and evaluate social policy programs, and hold them accountable for outcomes. 
D)  added to the complexity and fragmentation of social programs, and made them harder to administer, implement, evaluate, and hold accountable for outcomes.

Question 3

Popularly known as "Obamacare," this law, __________, was created and designed to ensure that tens of millions of Americans who could not afford health insurance would have access to at least basic coverage.It also expanded Medicaid.

Accepted Answer

A)  the American Health Care Act 
B)  the Better Care Reconciliation Act 
C)  the Barack Obama Patient Protection Act 
D)  the Affordable Care Act

Question 4

The federal government became involved in subsidizing the education of college and university students as a result of the 1944 GI Bill, which ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  created the Pell Grant program 
B)  offered an array of grants and tax credits to support higher education 
C)  provided veterans returning from World War II with college and university tuition vouchers 
D)  provided veterans returning from World War II, and their families, with federal higher education loans

Question 5

While the federal government has long given companies and individuals tax deductions or deferrals for economic development purposes, state and local governments have, since at least the 1980s, tried to attract new jobs and amenities through similar means.Professional sports teams, shopping center developers, manufacturers, and the film and television industries have all benefited from the provisions that many analysts call "tax expenditures" and supporters call "tax incentives." Why could such measures be called either of the above?

Accepted Answer

A)  They are ultimately not monies that go to the government, but they should have. 
B)  They represent monies that ultimately do not go to governments, but are otherwise considered mandatory spending measures. 
C)  They provide monies to encourage a particular activity, but ultimately they do not count as government spending. 
D)  They do not count as mandatory spending, but are instead counted as discretionary spending for governmental accounting purposes.

Question 6

Under the current Medicare system, the national government exercises very tight control over the quality of the services and the level of fees that health care providers charge.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 7

In 1996, Congress abolished Aid to Families with Dependent Children, a long-running program that provided benefits to families with low or no income, and replaced it with a more restrictive, state block grants-based benefits program called:

Accepted Answer

A)  the Earned Income Tax Credit (EIT
C) . 
B)  Supplemental Security Income (SSI). 
C)  Temporary Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFD
C) . 
D)  Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).

Question 8

Most states set TANF payments high enough to bring families well above the federal poverty line.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

Sales taxes, other "consumption" taxes on items including liquor and gasoline, and federal Social Security contributions are called regressive taxes because:

Accepted Answer

A)  only backwards governments depend on them for revenue. 
B)  the less money you make, the higher the percentage of your income that goes toward paying these taxes. 
C)  the more you make, the higher the percentage of your income that goes toward paying these taxes. 
D)  they tend to be less favored by political progressives-that is, left-leaning Democrats or independent party supporters.

Question 10

Protecting the environment generally complements the economic goals of policymakers.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

The federal government put millions of people back to work during the Great Depression by:

Accepted Answer

A)  breaking up monopolies, subsidizing thousands of new businesses, and expanding credit through monetary policy. 
B)  the skillful use of monetary policy, along with tax cuts aimed at economic expansion. 
C)  the skillful use of fiscal policy in order to help employers and expand educational opportunities. 
D)  having them work with newly created agencies to construct bridges, walkways, and buildings that can still be seen across the country today.

Question 12

The federal government has the power to break up a monopoly.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Noncontributory programs, such as Medicaid, are implemented in part through means testing, meaning that:

Accepted Answer

A)  potential benefit recipients have their eligibility determined through a process involving proof of income and need. 
B)  the programs are administered by the states, which all have strict eligibility rules. 
C)  the programs' generosity differs from place to place, given a federal formula involving recipient incomes and local cost of living. 
D)  potential benefit recipients must prove only that they live below the poverty line.

Question 14

Beginning in 1971, the federal government tried to _______________ by implementing strict controls over what wages people could be paid for their work, what rent their real estate could bring, and what interest they could get on their money.

Accepted Answer

A)  bring socialism to the United States 
B)  institute a new form of monetary policy 
C)  fight inflation (a consistent rise in the general level prices) 
D)  promote more market efficiency

Question 15

Market standards that are often provided by governments, such as weights and measures, are important to the functioning of a market economy because:

Accepted Answer

A)  most people would find it difficult to figure out measures or recognize what common agricultural goods such as a tomato were otherwise worth. 
B)  society would quickly fall into chaos without standards of every sort, from scientific to moral standards. 
C)  they help people understand what they are bargaining for. 
D)  they help people recognize the value of public goods.

Question 16

A voluntary agreement between two or more private persons that facilitates the exchange of property or services, and which is given weight when it can be legally enforced, is called a:

Accepted Answer

A)  policy. 
B)  barter or exchange. 
C)  market standard. 
D)  contract.

Question 17

The Federal Reserve has the power to directly increase or restrict the amount of money available to consumers to spend or invest through:

Accepted Answer

A)  open-market operations, whereby the Fed buys and sells government securities. 
B)  federal funds adjustment, which involves interest rates charged by one bank to another. 
C)  adjustment of the reserve requirement, which is the amount of cash and securities that every bank must have available. 
D)  the discount rate, which is the interest it charges on the loans it extends to member banks.

Question 18

Although its chair and board members are appointed by presidents, in all other concerns the Federal Reserve System (the Fed) is an independent agency.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

__________________ refers to government actions or plans, such as taxing or spending measures, that are created with balancing or equalizing a population's distribution of income in mind.

Accepted Answer

A)  Policy redistribution 
B)  Policy socialism 
C)  Policy progressivism 
D)  Tax expenditure development

Question 20

An effective market economy requires governmental rules for the enforcement of contracts.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Exam 13: Introduction to Public Policy

A public policy is a law, rule, statute, regulation, or order that:

Popularly known as "Obamacare," this law, __________, was created and designed to ensure that tens of millions of Americans who could not afford health insurance would have access to at least basic coverage.It also expanded Medicaid.

The federal government became involved in subsidizing the education of college and university students as a result of the 1944 GI Bill, which ____________.

Under the current Medicare system, the national government exercises very tight control over the quality of the services and the level of fees that health care providers charge.

In 1996, Congress abolished Aid to Families with Dependent Children, a long-running program that provided benefits to families with low or no income, and replaced it with a more restrictive, state block grants-based benefits program called:

Most states set TANF payments high enough to bring families well above the federal poverty line.

Sales taxes, other "consumption" taxes on items including liquor and gasoline, and federal Social Security contributions are called regressive taxes because:

Protecting the environment generally complements the economic goals of policymakers.

The federal government put millions of people back to work during the Great Depression by:

The federal government has the power to break up a monopoly.

Noncontributory programs, such as Medicaid, are implemented in part through means testing, meaning that:

Beginning in 1971, the federal government tried to _______________ by implementing strict controls over what wages people could be paid for their work, what rent their real estate could bring, and what interest they could get on their money.

Market standards that are often provided by governments, such as weights and measures, are important to the functioning of a market economy because:

A voluntary agreement between two or more private persons that facilitates the exchange of property or services, and which is given weight when it can be legally enforced, is called a:

The Federal Reserve has the power to directly increase or restrict the amount of money available to consumers to spend or invest through:

Although its chair and board members are appointed by presidents, in all other concerns the Federal Reserve System (the Fed) is an independent agency.

__________________ refers to government actions or plans, such as taxing or spending measures, that are created with balancing or equalizing a population's distribution of income in mind.

An effective market economy requires governmental rules for the enforcement of contracts.