Unit D Review Questions Chapter 17-Economic Policymaking

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1 Unit D Review Questions Chapter 17-Economic Policymaking 1. The term pocketbook voting refers to a. The importance of women voters b. Political corruption c. Voters who prioritize economic concerns d. Voters whose votes are easily purchased e. Women s economic concerns 2. The political parties emphasize different economic issues; Democrats tend to focus on, while Republicans are more worried about. a. keeping unemployment low; inflation b. inflation; keeping unemployment low c. domestic trade; international trade d. sociotropic voting; pocketbook voting e. pocketbook voting; sociotropic voting 3. Who measures how many and what types of workers are unemployed? a. The Campus Living Wage Project b. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration c. The Federal Reserve System d. The Bureau of Labor Statistics e. The Securities and Exchange Commission 4. A worker who has lost his or her job, has been unable to find a new job, and has given up the search for a new job is known as a. an underemployed worker. b. an unemployed worker. c. a discouraged worker. d. a charity case. e. unemployable. 5. The primary tools used to steer the economy are a. monetary policy and fiscal policy. b. domestic policy and foreign policy. c. free trade and tariff policies. d. inflation and regulation of the stock exchange. e. All of the above are true. 6. In order to avoid an economic depression, Keynesian economic theory argues that government policies should a. reduce demand. b. lower taxes. c. spend more. d. increase supply. e. raise interest rates.

2 7. America s first antitrust legislation, which was passed in the late nineteenth century, was the a. Wagner Act. b. Sherman Act. c. Taft-Hartley Act. d. Clayton Antitrust Act. e. Antimonopoly Act. 8. Which group is more affected by unemployment? a. Democrats b. Republicans c. Young adults d. Older adults e. Hard-working whites 9. The increase in the cost of a barrel of oil from $10.00 in the 1990s to over $ in 2008 is an example of a. OPEC price manipulation. b. price gauging. c. cost-of-living adjustment. d. inflation. e. American foreign policy. 10. Following the stock market crash of 1929, President Herbert Hoover adhered to ; in the following election, he suffered a crushing defeat to FDR. a. monetarism b. libertarianism c. Keynesianism d. laissez-faire economics e. collective bargaining 11. Generally speaking, liberals look to the work of to justify an expanded role for government, while conservatives look to theories on the free market and arguments against government intervention. a. Milton Friedman; John Maynard Keynes b. John Maynard Keynes; Milton Friedman s c. Karl Mark; Adam Smith s d. Adam Smith; Karl Marx s e. Bill Clinton; Ronald Reagan s 12. Fiscal policy refers to a. federal taxing, spending, and borrowing. b. the printing of money. c. the setting of interest rates. d. the creation of jobs. e. None of the above is true.

3 Chapter 18-Social Policymaking 1. Social welfare policies are a. policies that provide benefits to individuals, either through entitlements or through means testing. b. shares of national income earned by various groups. c. policies that tax a greater share of the income of the rich than of the poor. d. policies used to count the number of poor people. e. benefits given by the government directly to individuals. 2. Government benefits that certain qualified individuals are entitled to by law, regardless of need, are called a. means-tested programs. b. entitlements. c. handouts. d. redistributive policies. e. regulatory policies. 3. refers to the amount of money collected between any two points in time; refers to the value of assets owned. a. Wealth; income b. Income; wealth c. Entitlements; income d. Wealth; entitlements e. Income; entitlements 4. The feminization of poverty refers to a. the high incidence of poverty among unmarried mothers and their children. b. high poverty levels among the elderly, who tend to be female. c. higher incarceration rates of women today compared to twenty years ago. d. higher rates of homelessness among women. e. the high incidence of poverty among married mothers and their children. 5. Transfer payments a. consist of cash and in-kind benefits from the government. b. are part of the proposed changes to make taxation more proportional. c. have significantly redistributed income in America. d. have the net effect of being regressive. e. All of the above are true of transfer payments. 6. Which president formed the Commission to Strengthen Social Security through a system of limited privatization? a. Franklin D. Roosevelt b. Ronald Reagan c. George H. W. Bush d. Bill Clinton e. George W. Bush

4 7. Government benefits provided regardless of financial need are called a. means tested. b. transfer payments. c. entitlements. d. nonmerit benefits. e. generic expenditures. 8. Studies of America s wealth show that of America s wealth is held by the wealthiest 1 percent of the population. a. one-sixth b. one-fifth c. one-quarter d. one-third e. one-half 9. Which of the following statements about the distribution of wealth in America is TRUE? a. Many of the poor are slowly gaining ground, relatively speaking, to higher-income groups. b. All groups are increasing their wealth, with the poor increasing at a slightly lower rate. c. Many of the poor are losing ground to the higher-income groups in absolute terms. d. All groups are increasing their wealth, with the poor increasing at a slightly higher rate. e. The middle class (the middle quintile of the population) is increasing its share of the national income, while the top and bottom quintiles are losing their share of national income. 10. Poverty among the elderly declined over the past several decades primarily due to a. Social Security benefits. b. the booming economy in the 1980s. c. changing attitudes in society regarding the elderly. d. the larger proportion of savings held by the elderly. e. All of the above are true. 11. A tax takes a higher percentage from the incomes of the rich than the poor. a. progressive b. proportional c. regressive d. relative-deprivation e. flat 12. The federal income tax is an example of a tax. a. progressive b. proportional c. regressive d. relative-deprivation e. flat 13. A transfer payment is one that a. requires some form of work in exchange for government assistance. b. provides money from the government s general treasury to those in specific need. c. is paid in lieu of cash. d. is not based on need. e. provides tax credits from the government s general treasury to individuals.

5 14. Currently, there are approximately workers per Social Security recipient. a. 3.4 b. 5 c. 7 d. 9 e What explains why politicians are reluctant to attempt to significantly reform Social Security? a. Politicians are self-interested and want to protect their own retirement. b. Older Americans vote at higher rates than do younger Americans; politicians fear a backlash from older Americans. c. Politicians seek to avoid blame for the failures of Social Security. d. Social Security has been so successful; few see a need for meaningful reform. e. Both a and c are true. Chapter 19-Healthcare, Environment, and Energy Policymaking 1. Health care costs account for what portion of America s gross domestic product? a. One-seventh b. One-fifth c. One-third d. One-sixth e. One-fourth 2. Compared to Western European nations, the United States has a infant mortality rate. a. higher b. nearly identical c. slightly lower d. significantly lower e. faster growing 3. Doctors have no reason to compete with each other to offer cheaper health care expenses because a. insurance companies and government pay for most health care expenses. b. the government mandates that everyone receives equal access to health care. c. technology has made medical care more efficient and less costly. d. specialization has made competition unnecessary. e. All of the above are true. 4. Medicare was adopted in 1965 to provide government health insurance to a. veterans. b. government employees. c. the poor. d. the elderly. e. children living in poverty.

6 5. What is the difference between Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B? a. Part A provides hospitalization and short-term nursing care; Part B is voluntary and allows older Americans to purchase inexpensive coverage for doctors fees and nonhospital medical expenses. b. Part A allows older Americans to purchase inexpensive coverage for doctors fees and nonhospital medical expenses; Part B provides hospitalization and short-term nursing care. c. Part A provides health insurance to the elderly; Part B provides health insurance to the poor. d. Part A provides health insurance to the poor; Part B provides health insurance to the elderly. e. Part A covers prescription drugs; there is no prescription drug coverage in Part B. 6. The public assistance program designed to provide health care for poor Americans, funded by both the states and federal government, is called a. Medicare. b. Medicaid. c. Social Security. d. CHIP. e. TANF. 7. The National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Water Pollution Control Act are implemented by the a. Department of the Interior (DOI). b. Department of Transportation (DOT). c. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). d. Department of Energy (DOE). e. President s National Environmental Council. 8. Which of the following is NOT true about the Superfund? a. Taxes on chemical products are used to pay for it. b. It has successfully located and isolated the country s toxic waste dump sites and has completely cleaned more than half of those sites. c. It was created by Congress in part to respond to the Love Canal disaster in New York State. d. Its costs represent the fastest-growing segment of the nation s environmental budget. e. It is administered by the EPA. 9. How much of the nation s energy sources are renewable? a. 7 percent b. 15 percent c. 25 percent d. 40 percent e. 60 percent 10. What is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve? a. A stockpile of oil in underground salt caverns along the Gulf of Mexico, maintained by the Department of Energy, established to provide oil during an emergency b. The proposed location for storing nuclear waste in the United States c. A key territory in the oil-rich nation of Iraq that supplies at least 10 percent of the world s oil supply d. The name of the international treaty, signed by industrialized countries, promising to reduce greenhouse emissions to 1990 levels by about 2010 e. The fund set up by Congress in 1980 to clean up hazardous waste sites, paid for with money from taxes on chemical products

7 Chapter 20-National Security Policymaking 1. The United Nations was created in order to a. increase the power of America s interests in the world. b. better allow the United States to achieve its foreign policy goals. c. undermine United States foreign policy. d. promote peace and the respect for human rights and economic freedoms. e. fight against the spread of communism. 2. The Warsaw Pact, NATO, and the European Union are all examples of a. multinational corporations. b. nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). c. global government. d. regional organizations. e. treaties. 3. An isolationist foreign policy argues that a. the United States should stay out of other nations conflicts. b. the United States should work with allies to isolate security threats. c. the United States should take an active role in other nations concerns. d. the United States should prevent the spread of hostile ideologies. e. the United States should project its power in the world. 4. The Monroe Doctrine asserted America s sphere of influence a. in the Middle East. b. in Southeast Asia. c. in Central and South America. d. in Liberia. e. in the North Atlantic. 5. The threat posed by terrorist groups and hostile states supporting them caused America to a. reconsider basic principles of its foreign policy. b. recall many of its senior diplomats from the Middle East. c. emphasize the principles of deterrence and containment in foreign policy. d. make dramatic cuts in domestic expenditures to pay for the new war on terrorism. e. shift back to isolationism. 6. Currently, Congress appropriates percent of the federal budget for economic and humanitarian foreign aid. a. Less than 1 b. 5 c. 10 d. 13 e The idea that war is the continuation of politics by other means helps to capture a. the way Democrats and Republicans differ over the war in Iraq. b. the way political parties fight with each other. c. the idea that governments use their military to help pursue policy goals. d. the notion that economic instruments are ineffective weapons of foreign policy. e. diplomacy is the quietest instrument of influence in global politics.

8 8. The importance of oil in shaping U.S. foreign policy helps to highlight a. the importance of military superiority. b. the increasing importance of economic instruments of foreign policy. c. the need to drill for domestic sources. d. how the importance of oil is often overexaggerated. e. the critical nature of regime change in the Middle East. 9. Which of the following is not one of the functions of the United Nations? a. Peacekeeping operations b. Educational programs c. Programs designed to promote world health d. Programs designed to spread free trade e. Programs designed to promote economic development 10. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an example of a a. United Nations agency. b. regional organization for military purposes. c. regional organization for economic purposes. d. multinational corporation. e. global organization for military purposes. 11. The Joint Chiefs of Staff is made up of a. the commanding officers of each branch of the armed services, along with a chairperson and vice chairperson. b. the heads of the State Department and the Defense Department. c. foreign policy advisers who meet with the president daily. d. the highest-ranking generals in the U.S. Army. e. the critical domestic and foreign policy advisers to the president. 12. The National Security Council was created to a. carry out covert missions in other countries. b. protect the homeland against attacks and invasions. c. coordinate American foreign and military policy. d. prevent the Joint Chiefs of Staff from usurping power. e. gather intelligence about foreign countries. 13. In American government, the power to declare war rests with a. the president of the United States. b. the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. c. the National Security Council. d. the secretary of defense. e. Congress. 14. During the early years of his administration, Reagan s foreign and defense polices emphasized a. détente. b. anticommunism. c. arms reduction talks. d. nuclear disarmament. e. international free trade.

9 15. Since the war in Afghanistan, a. al Qaeda has transformed itself into a umbrella organization that provides inspiration for loosely affiliated terrorist groups in dozens of countries across the globe. b. al Qaeda has been significantly weakened, following a decapitation strategy, which eliminated a small group of senior figures in the original al Qaeda network. c. al Qaeda has been increasingly centralized in Afghanistan and the surrounding region. d. All of the above are true. 16. In general, how do conservatives and liberals differ when it comes to defense spending? a. Conservatives advocate increases in defense spending; liberals are generally skeptical of increases in defense spending. b. Conservatives are skeptical of increases in defense spending; liberals advocate increases in defense spending. c. Conservatives favor social spending over defense spending; liberals favor defense spending over social spending. d. Conservatives emphasize strong economies; liberals emphasize strong military readiness. e. None of these is true. 17. Which of the following is an example of a nontariff barrier used to limit imports? a. Quotas b. Subsidies c. Quality specifications d. All of the above are nontariff barriers. e. None of the above is a nontariff barrier. 18. When the American people hold strong opinions regarding international relations, a. they are usually ignored. b. policymakers manipulate the agenda to emphasize domestic issues. c. they usually find policymakers responsive to them. d. they follow the lead of the president. e. The media provide better coverage of national security policy issues.

Economic Policymaking

Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy Updated with 15 th Edition Edwards/Wattenberg/Lineberry Chapter 17 Economic Policymaking Voters, Politicians and the Economy Economic conditions are