Studied by 77 people
Domestic Policy
All of the laws, government planning, and government actions that affect each individual’s daily life (ex: poverty, health care, the environment)
Policy Making Process
Agenda Building > Policy Formulation > Policy Adoption > Policy Implementation > Policy Evaluation and Revision
Medicare
Created in 1965; a federal health insurance program that covers residents age 65 and older. The costs are met by a tax on wages and salaries.
Medicaid
A joint state-federal program that provides medical care to the poor. Funded by general government revenues.
National Health Insurance
A plan in which the government provides basic health care coverage to all citizens. Most of these plans are funded by taxes on wages and salaries.
Single-Payer Plan
A plan under which one entity has a monopoly on issuing a particular type of insurance. Typically, the entity is the government, and the insurance is basic health coverage.
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
A report that must show the costs and benefits of major federal actions that could significantly affect the quality of the environment
Sustainability
Achieving a balance between society and nature that will permit both to exist in harmony
Energy Policy
Laws concerned with how much energy is needed and used
Income Transfers
A transfer of income from some individuals in the economy to others, generally by government action
In-Kind Subsidy
A good or service - such as food stamps, housing, or medical care - provided by the government to low-income groups
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
A state program in which grants from the national government are used to provide welfare benefits. Replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
A federal program established to provide assistance to elderly persons and persons with disabilities
Food Stamps
Benefits issued by the federal government to low-income individuals to be used to purchase food
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Program
A government program that helps low income workers by giving back part or all of their Social Security taxes
Glass-Steagall Act
A law passed in 1933 to regulate the banking industry which prohibited banks from engaging in speculative investments or becoming investment houses
Inflation
A sustained rise in the general price level of goods and services
Recession
Two or more successive quarters (6 months) in which the economy shrinks instead of grows
Unemployment
The inability of those who are in the labor force to find a job
Full Employment
An arbitrary level of unemployment that corresponds to “normal” friction in the labor market. Today, it is assumed to be around 5 percent.
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
A measure of the change in price over time of a specific group of goods and services used by the average household
Business Cycle
Prosperity > Recession > Depression > Growth
Fiscal Policy
The federal government’s use of taxation and spending policies to affect overall business activity
Monetary Policy
The utilization of changes in the amount of money in circulation to alter credit markets, employment and the rate of inflation
Laissez-Faire Economics
Governments “hands off approach” to the economy. Little regulations on businesses.
Keynesian Economics
An economic thought that tends to favor active federal government policy making to stabilize economy-wide fluctuations, usually by implementing fiscal policy
Supply Side Economics
An economic theory that holds that the answer to inflation is to reduce government regulation and cut taxes so that businesses will produce more products. Oversupply will drive down prices.
Budget Deficit
Government spends more than it receives
U.S Treasury Bond
Debt issued by the federal government
Gross Public Debt
The net public debt plus inter agency borrowings within the government
Net Public Debt
The accumulation of all past federal government deficits; the total amount owed by the federal government
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
The dollar value of all final goods and services produced in a one-year period
Loophole
A legal method by which individuals and businesses are allowed to reduce the tax liabilities owed to the government
Progressive Tax
A tax that rises in percentage terms as incomes rise (Federal income tax, state income tax, federal corporate income tax, estate tax)
Regressive Tax
A tax that falls in percentage terms as incomes rise (Social security tax, medicare tax, state sales tax, local real estate taxes)
Federal Reserve System (the Fed)
The most important regulatory agency in the U.S monetary system. The Fed performs important functions such as regulating the amount of money in circulation and providing a system for transferring checks from one bank to another.
Federal Open Market Committee
The most important body within the federal reserve system. They decide how monetary policy should be carried out.
Tight Monetary Policy
Monetary policy that makes credit expensive in an effort to slow the economy
Loose Monetary Policy
Monetary policy that makes credit inexpensive and abundant, possibly leading to inflation
Imports
Goods and services produced outside a country but sold within its borders
Exports
Goods and services produced domestically for sale abroad
Balance of Trade
The difference between the value of a nation’s export goods and the value of its imports of goods
Import Quota
A restriction imposed on the value or number of units of a particular good that can be brought into a country.
Tariffs
Taxes on imports
SCOTUS Supreme Court Decision
Supreme Court ruling that made it so that states could not remove Trump from the ballots over his actions leading up to the January 6th attack on the Capital; overturned the Colorado Supreme Court decision
Who is the current chairman of the FED?
Jerome Powell
What is the current unemployment rate?
3.7%
What is the current inflation rate?
3%
What is the U.S debt right now?
$34.5 Trillion
What is the U.S income tax system?
Graduated Income Tax System
How long can you be on welfare in the U.S?
5 years total, 2 years consecutively
Who founded the Environmental Protection Agency?
Founded in 1970 by the Nixon administration
What local animal is protected by the Endangered Species Act?
The spotted owl
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Flashcard (20)