Political Science 101- Introduction to American Politics » Spring 2021 » Chapter 17 Post Test

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Question #1
Before the development of the welfare state, the primary problem with private charities was that they
A.   disrupted the constitutional separation of church and state.
B.   were unable to get the necessary government licenses to operate legally.
C.   often kept donations for their own private use.
D.   would make subjective decisions on who was deserving of aid.
Question #2
The goal of Social Security is to
A.   ensure a basic income to all workers once they retire.
B.   guarantee affordable housing for the elderly and the disabled.
C.   cover the basic living expenses of Americans who are permanently or temporarily unemployed.
D.   provide health insurance for the elderly and the disabled.
Question #3
Social Security plays a vital role for younger people by providing
A.   food stamps for those who fall under the poverty line.
B.   survivor benefits to those whose parents die or become disabled.
C.   unemployment compensation for those who lose their jobs.
D.   health care benefits to those whose jobs do not provide it.
Question #4
A(n) ________ benefit is one where potential recipients must document their genuine need.
A.   means-tested
B.   indexed
C.   contributory
D.   in-kind
Question #5
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits provided by state governments ________ the federal poverty line.
A.   vary widely across states but are required to be slightly above
B.   are the same in every state and are slightly above
C.   are the same in every state and are always below
D.   vary widely across states but are always below
Question #6
Noncitizen legal immigrants are
A.   required to reside in the United States for 15 years before they can receive Medicaid benefits.
B.   never allowed to receive Medicaid benefits.
C.   required to reside in the United States for five years before they can receive Medicaid benefits.
D.   eligible to receive Medicaid benefits as soon as they arrive in the United States.
Question #7
Part of the reason welfare programs became so unpopular was that
A.   the programs were completely taken over by state and local governments rather than having input from the federal government.
B.   many Americans came to believe that welfare recipients did not want to work.
C.   the programs were completely taken over by the federal government rather than having input from state and local governments.
D.   federal judges frequently ruled them to be unconstitutional.
Question #8
The American welfare state began in the
A.   1890s.
B.   1910s.
C.   1930s.
D.   1950s.
Question #9
Which federal program poses the biggest budget challenge for the federal government in the coming years?
A.   the Earned Income Tax Credit
B.   the mortgage interest deduction
C.   Medicare
D.   the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program
Question #10
Which of the following best describes the way Social Security works?
A.   Corporations set aside money to pay for their workers retirement in the future.
B.   Today’s workers save money in a personal account for their future retirement.
C.   Medical coverage is provided to any retirees, for a fee.
D.   Today’s workers pay for the Social Security payments to today’s retirees.
Question #11
Which of the following is a noncontributory program?
A.   Medicare
B.   Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
C.   Unemployment insurance
D.   Social Security
Question #12
The American welfare state is composed of contributory and noncontributory programs, along with
A.   discretionary spending.
B.   in-kind benefits.
C.   means-tested programs.
D.   tax expenditures.
Question #13
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
A.   offered federal funds for school districts with substantial numbers of children from unemployed or low-income families.
B.   cut federal funding for school districts that performed poorly on the Department of Education’s measures of student success.
C.   guaranteed that 10% of all federal revenue would be spent each year on elementary and secondary education.
D.   required that all school districts devote at least 200 hours of instruction to students each year using federally approved curriculum.
Question #14
Charter schools are best described as
A.   private schools run by large corporations.
B.   publicly funded schools that are free to design special curricula.
C.   private schools that are funded with tax vouchers.
D.   schools that a district uses as the median by which to judge test scores.
Question #15
The central thrust of federal housing policy has been to
A.   provide low-cost rental units for the poor.
B.   reduce homelessness.
C.   promote home ownership.
D.   provide uniform housing safety standards.
Question #16
Slightly more than half of nonelderly Americans receive health insurance through
A.   their employers.
B.   the Affordable Care Act.
C.   Medicaid.
D.   Medicare.
Question #17
The housing bubble prior to 2007 was driven primarily by
A.   the increased demand for housing that resulted from a dramatic loosening of lending standards.
B.   the large population growth stemming from legal and illegal immigration between 1990 and 2005.
C.   the federal government’s decision to quadruple the mortgage interest deduction in 2003.
D.   innovations in construction technology that allowed for new homes to be built at drastically reduced costs.
Question #18
The Every Student Succeeds law enacted by Congress in 2015 returned control for school performance to ________ testing results by race and ethnicity.
A.   the federal government and outlawed any attempts by state governments to disaggregate
B.   state governments but maintained the federal requirement that schools provide
C.   state governments but outlawed the federal requirement that schools provide
D.   the federal government but created a new requirement that schools disaggregate
Question #19
How has funding for public colleges shifted since the 1970s?
A.   Tuition has gone up substantially, as has monetary support from the federal and state government.
B.     
C.   States now pay more toward higher education, but the federal government pays less.
D.   States have reduced funding for higher education, and tuition has increased substantially to compensate.
E.   Colleges now rely more on donors and grants from private foundations and less on tuition and state support.
Question #20
The federal government first created housing programs in response to the
A.   housing crash of 2008.
B.   Civil War.
C.   Great Depression.
D.     
E.   Vietnam War.
Question #21
Since the welfare reforms of 1996, the primary reason for receiving federal cash assistance if one is nonworking and able-bodied is that the recipient
A.   has been means tested.
B.   has been considered deserving.
C.   is actively looking for a job.
D.   is caring for children.
Question #22
It is difficult to lobby for the interests of poor children because
A.   there are no longer enough poor children to make a difference.
B.   children cannot vote.
C.   children are a group that earns no income and can therefore not afford lobbyists.
D.   American political values tend to discount the needs of youth.
Question #23
What are the three streams in political scientist John Kingdon’s model of the policy-making process?
A.   grievances, groups, and governments
B.   language, legislators, and laws
C.   problems, policies, and politics
D.   budgets, ballots, and battlegrounds
Question #24
Tax expenditures primarily benefit which groups?
A.   the working class and unions
B.   the middle and upper classes
C.   children and recent college graduates
D.   the elderly and the retired
Question #25
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 aimed to promote equality of opportunity with which two provisions?
A.   a provision that required schools to provide tutoring, longer school days, and additional summer school and a provision that allowed parents of children in failing schools to transfer their children to better schools
B.   a provision that mandated a standardized national test to evaluate all K–12 students and a provision that provided scholarships for students in failing public schools to attend private schools
C.   a provision that mandated a standardized national test to evaluate all K–12 students and a provision that created federally run “scholarship academies” for low-income students who scored highly on the national tests
D.   a provision that outlawed all standardized testing in K–12 schools and a provision that mandated busing to integrate racially homogenous schools
Question #26
What was the “outdoor relief” distributed by private charities?
A.   a temporary job
B.   cash payments
C.   a place to sleep at night
D.   bread lines and soup kitchens
Question #27
Social Security was established in
A.   1965
B.   1904
C.   1935
D.   1919
Question #28
The formula by which Social Security retirement benefits are calculated is designed to
A.   redistribute income from well-off to less-well-off workers.
B.   provide every worker with an equal amount of income.
C.   redistribute income from the elderly to the young.
D.   redistribute income from less-well-off workers to well-off workers.
Question #29
The periodic adjustment of benefits or wages that takes into account the increased cost of living is called
A.   economic tabulating.
B.   means testing.
C.   graphing.
D.   indexing.
Question #30
Unemployment insurance is a ________ program that is funded by the ________.
A.   noncontributory; federal and state governments
B.   contributory; state governments only
C.   noncontributory; state governments only
D.   contributory; federal and state governments
Question #31
Which of the following is the best example of the shadow welfare state?
A.   soup kitchens supported by local churches
B.   tax breaks
C.   cost-of-living adjustments
D.   food stamps
Question #32
What is the shadow welfare state?
A.   tax breaks—credits, deductions, and preferential tax rates that subsidize social welfare
B.   private charities that have filled the gap left by reductions in government spending
C.   the welfare that is distributed by local governments and special districts
D.   the welfare payments that the government is committed to paying in the future
Question #33
Which of the following social policies is currently the most costly to the government?
A.   Social Security
B.   public housing assistance
C.   food stamps
D.   Medicare
Question #34
The Great Depression changed American attitudes about welfare by
A.   showing that government was not as capable of taking care of the poor as private charities.
B.   revealing that poverty could be caused by a flawed economic system, not just by personal irresponsibility.
C.   demonstrating that the government could choose between the deserving and undeserving poor in a more objective manner than private charities.
D.   showing that the government could efficiently distribute public assistance.
Question #35
Which of the following is a contributory program?
A.   Medicaid
B.   food stamps
C.   Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
D.   Medicare
Question #36
Medicare was established in
A.   1888
B.   1965
C.   1942
D.   1933
Question #37
After the 2004 election, President George W. Bush announced that ________ would be the centerpiece of his domestic policy.
A.   Social Security reform
B.   tax reform
C.   education
D.   the war on terrorism
Question #38
What is social insurance?
A.   Programs that individuals may opt to invest in so that they have more income should they ever need it during future crises.
B.   Private programs that provide funding to the government during tough budgetary times.
C.   Programs that people are required to contribute to that are designed to provide economic assistance to individuals in times of need.
D.   Programs that the government runs so that investments are channeled to companies that can best provide for individuals during times of need.
Question #39
Which of the following represents the correct chronological ordering of these major moments in the history of America’s social welfare programs, from earliest to most recent?
A.   Social Security is introduced, then Medicare is introduced, and finally welfare reform creates the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
B.   The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is created, then Social Security is partially privatized, and finally Medicare is created.
C.   Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is created, then Social Security is created, and finally the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is created.
D.   Medicare is introduced, then Social Security is partially privatized, and finally the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is created.
Question #40
If the government provides free temporary housing to individuals who cannot currently afford it, that is an example of a(n)
A.   contributory program.
B.   tax expenditure.
C.   indexed payment.
D.   in-kind benefit.
Question #41
What makes something a tax expenditure?
A.   It is when the government offers a tax break or tax credit for behavior it wants to encourage.
B.   It is a loophole through which people can pay previous taxes without suffering any penalties.
C.   It is a process by which companies can maximize their profit through shielding revenue from taxation.
D.   It is something that Congress has approved an appropriation from the general revenue fund to pay for.
Question #42
Ronald Reagan’s and George H. W. Bush’s administrations signaled a new focus for federal education policy by
A.   decreasing federal funding for public schools, especially those in rural locations.
B.   launching the first federally funded charter schools.
C.   focusing on higher standards rather than equal opportunity.
D.   eliminating the Department of Education.
Question #43
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
A.   consists of federal agencies in charge of implementing government-run health care and the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate.
B.   Consists of federal agencies in charge of biomedical research.
C.   is the main lobbying organizations of doctors.
D.   is in charge of monitoring outbreaks of disease and implementing prevention measures at the federal level.
Question #44
Because there is no provision for long-term care in the United States, ________ has become the de facto program financing nursing home residents when they have exhausted their savings.
A.   Medicaid
B.   the Affordable Care Act
C.   Medicare
D.   Social Security
Question #45
What were the two primary ways that the orientation of federal housing policy changed during the 1980s and 1990s?
A.   ending mortgage interest deductions for homeowners and instituting lower caps for rent-controlled apartments
B.   Housing assistance for low-income Americans shifted toward housing vouchers, and high-rise public housing units were replaced with new mixed-income units.
C.   ending mortgage interest deductions for homeowners and instituting higher caps for rent-controlled apartments
D.   Housing assistance for low-income Americans shifting away from housing vouchers, and mixed-income units were replaced with high-rise public housing units.
Question #46
  
A.   “in the green.”
B.   “underwater.”
C.   “sequestered.”
D.   “in the black.”
Question #47
The general trend over the past few decades in education policy
A.   had initially been toward more federal government control, but recently education policy has been decentralized to the states.
B.   had initially been decentralizing policy to the states, but recently has been toward more federal government control.
C.   has been toward more state and local government control and influence.
D.   has been toward more federal government control and influence.
Question #48
Which of the following best summarizes Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2016?
A.   Despite having control of both Congress and the presidency, Republicans were unable to pass any repeal of the ACA.
B.   Lacking control of either house of Congress, Republicans were unable to repeal the ACA.
C.   Republicans successfully repealed the ACA and replaced it with a more market-oriented health care system.
D.   Republicans fashioned a bill that passed both the House and Senate and would have repealed the ACA in its entirety, but President Trump vetoed it over political concerns.
Question #49
Which of the following groups receives the most benefit from government’s social policies?
A.   the middle class and the elderly
B.   racial and ethnic minorities
C.   the working poor
D.   children
Question #50
The three most important federal programs to assist the working poor are
A.   the Affordable Care Act, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
B.   Social Security, Medicare, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
C.   Medicaid, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, and the Troubled Assets Relief Program.
D.   the home mortgage deduction, the state and local tax deduction, and the deduction for charitable contributions.
Question #51
Roughly ________ of America’s children live in poverty.
A.   7%
B.   16%
C.   40%
D.   1%
Question #52
The “feminization of poverty” refers to the fact that
A.   women have become less likely over time to fall below the federal poverty line.
B.   women are more likely to be poor than men.
C.   the wage gap between men and women has become much larger during the last 50 years.
D.   women benefit more from federal antipoverty programs.
Question #53
If groups looking to legalize marijuana for recreational use failed to change the federal government’s policy toward the drug and, as a result, began lobbying state legislatures where legalization was popular, it would be an example of
A.   indexing.
B.   venue shopping.
C.   means testing.
D.   “retreating and reloading.”
Question #54
In 2018 and 2019 President Trump decided to focus on the security risks of using Chinese-manufactured computer equipment in American military installments. This is an example of which of Kingdon’s streams?
A.   Identifying a problem that requires a government solution.
B.   Presenting the viable policy alternatives.
C.   Fending off legal challenges to a solution.
D.   Passing a solution through the government process.
Question #55
Which of the following groups is more than twice as likely as other Americans to be below the poverty line?
A.   African Americans
B.   children
C.   single mothers
D.   the elderly
Question #56
Which of the following groups receives the least benefit from government’s social policies?
A.   the wealthy
B.   children and the working poor
C.   the elderly
D.   the middle class
Question #57
Redlining and restrictive covenants resulted in
A.   poorer public health outcomes, especially in rural communities and those areas without hospitals.
B.   higher homeownership by minorities and other previously underprivileged groups.
C.   more ready access to higher education.
D.   discrimination against minorities and worsening patterns of residential segregation.
Question #58
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
A.   created a new source of governmental power—the Department of Education—that is a combination of federal, state, and local authorities.
B.   substantially decreased the federal government’s role in elementary and secondary education.
C.   substantially increased the federal government’s role in elementary and secondary education.
D.   maintained the same role for the federal government in elementary and secondary education that existed between 1791 and 2001.
Question #59
In 2007 and 2008, the government faced a housing crisis caused by
A.   foreclosures.
B.   a scarcity of affordable housing.
C.   sharp rises in house prices.
D.   shortages in the timber industry.
Question #60
________ spending for K–12 education comes from ________.
A.   The vast majority of; the federal government and local governments, while state governments contribute a relatively small amount
B.   All; the federal government
C.   The vast majority of; state and local governments, while the federal government contributes a relatively small amount
D.   All; state governments

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