Holland PPL Midterm

Which statement describes gov't policy with regard to amusement parks?

A) regulated by states

B) regulated stringently by fed gov't

C) completely unregulated

D) patchwork by states and local

D

_______ refers to what happens to the public problem after a policy is enacted

policy outcome

public policy

gov't action in response to a public problem

institutions, agencies, and elected bodies through which public policy choices are made

Gov't

breaking down and studying the causes of public problems and policy choices that make the most sense

policy analysis

reason that U.S. policy making is characterized by conflict over which policies to adopt

Gov't officials, interest groups, and citizens promote their views about what to do

Gov;t officials propose public policies in response to ______

public problems

who gets what, when, and how

exercise of power in making PP decisions

politics

Reason that gov't gets involved in addressing a public problem

ensure general public good is maintained and protected

recession is an example of what context affecting development of PP

economic context

Great recession is what example of context affecting PP

economic context

popularity/power of a political party, pressure by interest groups, influence of third parties are examples of what context to PP

political context

Baby boomers and Social Security, immigration due to influx in US are examples of what kind of context

social context

EPA regulations that force power plants to take into consideration actual cost with pollution and health problems

What kind of market failure is EPA addressing?

Negative externality

Only type of good with no market failure, gov't need not intervene to prevent it

pure private good

Private goods are those that may be jointly consumed. T/F?

False

Interest groups are organized groups of people following the logic of collective action. T/F?

True

Policy criterion of efficiency

assessment of how well a policy works relative to the cost of adopting the policy

common pool resources are an example of info failure. T/F?

False

Policy analysis is only used to evaluate the equity of implemented policies. T/F?

False

common pool resources

Resources that are shared by a society and available to all to consume, such as oceans, lakes, rivers, and public lands. Also represents a type of market failure in which a good is defined by its ability not to be jointly consumed and for which exclusion is not feasible.

effectiveness criterion

likelihood of policy working

efficiency criterion

cost in relation to expected benefits

equity

how cost/benefits are distributed among citizens

Negative Externality

A type of market failure that occurs when two parties interact in a market and a third party is harmed as a result, and does not get compensated.

positive externality

A type of market failure that occurs the same way as a negative externality, but the third party gains something from the two-party interaction and does not have to pay for it.

toll good

A type of market failure whereby a good is defined by its ability to be jointly consumed, and exclusion is feasible. An example is cable television services.

U.S. system of gov't in which nat'l gov't shares authority with states and local gov't

federal

Federal gov't gives states set amount of money to state/local gov't for apportionment on community development activities

federal block grant

executive branch agencies

cabinet level departments, independent regulatory commissions, independent executive agencies

reason for growth in size/complexity of fed gov't over past 100 years

gov't has taken on an expanded role in regulating many areas of our lives

Which of the following policy analysis criteria deals with whether a policy has a fair process or policy outcome?

Equity

trand of decentralization of gov't in the US transfers policy authority from ____ to _____

federal to state

Interest groups often attempt to influence policy makers and PP through

lobbying

gov't policy actors include

any agencies or units of gov't that are involved in policy making process

Federal cabinet departments and major agencies such as the CIA and EPA are found in which branch of government?

executive

The slow start and frequent crashing of the Affordable Care Act website, Healthcare.gov, is an example of failure to measure up to which of the following evaluative criteria?

Administrative feasibility

Which government office is in charge of monitoring how other agencies conduct cost-benefit analyses?

Office of Management and Budget

Nearly every policy proposal is concerned with the criterion of ______.

effectiveness

Many individuals recently urged President Obama to reform health care by setting up a single-payer system like the Canadian system. In developing his health care reform plan, the president ruled out that option early using the criterion of ____, because it was likely to be "dead on arrival" in Congress.

political feasibility

With the scarcity of government resources in the past several years, the evaluative criterion of ___ has become more and more important.

efficiency

A local government is interested in planning for certain services for older adults as the Baby Boom generation ages. The agency develops estimates of the number of older adults who will be living in the area in 2015, 2020, 2025, and 2030. This is an example of

forecasting

The evaluative criterion of efficiency is concerned with the likely outcomes of the policy relative to the cost to implement it. -- True/False

True

The evaluative criterion of equity is concerned with how well the government will be able to manage and implement the policy. -- True/False

False

Impact analysis is concerned with measuring the future monetary savings that will come from implementing the policy. -- True/False

False

An impact assessment is used to estimate the harm that might be incurred or the chance of the possible effects of a particular policy proposal. -- True/False

True

The __ is a measure that represents the average change in price over time of a market basket of consumer goods and services.

CPI

The distributive effects of a tax are

the impact a tax has on different groups

____ are individuals that are concerned about the negative balance of trade.

Protectionists

____ policy refers to the government's budgetary process and includes all of the activities it does related to taxing and spending.

Fiscal

Regulation is defined as

the government requiring that certain activities be done and, if they are not, assessing penalties

Which of the following terms refers to the ability of a method of taxation to keep up with inflation and economic growth?

Buoyancy

The economic policy goal of ____ refers to policies that are designed to increase productivity, commerce, sales, employment, and the general pace of activity within the economy.

economic growth

As a part of the federal budgeting process, an executive agency called the _____ reviews all agency budgets and ensures that they conform to the intent of the policy.

Office of Management and Budget

How has the nature of U.S. jobs changed in the past few decades?

Jobs in the service sector are growing while the manufacturing sector is decreasing.

Tax policy is one of the areas of greatest political tension. One variable affecting policy makers' decisions about tax policy includes ____, which refers to the equity issue of which subgroups of citizens are most impacted by the tax.

distributive effects

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2009) attempted to stimulate economic growth primarily using which economic policy tool?

Government spending

When the economy grows, often inflation increases as well. This condition illustrates the principle of ____.

interrelationship of economic goals

The government shut down in October 2013 because Congress and the president could not agree on whether to extend the stimulus program begun in 2009. -- True/False

False

A positive deficit occurs when the United States exports more than it imports. -- True/False

False

Reducing the income gap is one of the goals of economic policy in the United States. -- True/False

False

Economic policy is critical to all other areas of policy but is not often recognized for its central role. -- True/False

True

In the United States, health care is viewed as a _____, in contrast to many other developed countries, which consider health care to be a right.

merit good

Which government program provides medical insurance for the elderly as an entitlement?

Medicare

The ___ part of Affordable Care Act requires that everyone is responsible to obtain health insurance coverage from their employer, through a government program, or by purchasing it themselves.

individual mandate

The ___ program, established in 1965 and funded jointly by states and the federal government, provides health care coverage for poor adults and children.

Medicaid

The Veterans Health System faces concerns related to _____ ____.

poor quality of medical care and growing numbers of veterans needing care.

Part __ of Medicare covers physician charges, diagnostic tests, and other charges than hospital stays.

B

What are some examples of preventative health care?

Environmental protection, diet and exercise, and health education.

Overall, the two broad problems that the U.S. health care system faces overall right now are

growing costs and poor access to health care services.

What feature makes the U.S. health care system distinct from that of most other countries?

The significant involvement of many for-profit companies and providers of care

In the U.S. health care system, insurance typically pays for each doctor's visit, test, and exam separately. This is called

fee-for-service health care.

Critics of the U.S. health care system argue that, in the long run, treating the diseases that afflict people who are obese is much more costly than investing in strategies to prevent obesity. They argue that, in this way, the U.S. health care system is not

efficient

Preventative health care can help reduce the costs of health care. -- True/False

True

The Affordable Care Act is a form of single-payer health care. -- True/False

False

Many of the developments in health care policy in the United States have been incremental. -- True/False

True

Health care in the United States is viewed largely as a right to which all citizens are entitled. -- True/False

False

The Gini coefficient measures ___.

income inequality

The highest quintile (20%) of the U.S. population earns about __ of the total income in the country.

50%

Privatization of Social Security has been one of the major proposals for reform. Privatization refers to

the government provides funds to individuals that they are responsible to invest.

Which of the following is NOT a prominent proposal to reform the Social Security program?

Requiring recipients to undergo employment training and obtain jobs

Which new program, enacted in 1996, ended the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program?

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families(TANF)

One of the largest federal programs for the poor is SNAP. What does it provide?

Financial resources to purchase food

Which of the following describes what is known about the effectiveness of the TANF legislation?

It has reduced the number of people receiving welfare but had an unclear impact on numbers in poverty.

The primary goal of all welfare and social security programs is to

reduce the number of people living in poverty

Which statement describes how most welfare programs are financed and implemented?

The federal government provides much of the funding and state governments manage the programs.

The current Social Security program, financed by payroll taxes, is capped at just over $107,000 of income. This is an example of _______.

a regressive tax

____ refers to increases made to the amount of Social Security benefits paid to an eligible individual based on inflation and increasing costs of basic goods.

Cost of Living Adjustments or COLA

Programs that require someone to have a low income in order to participate are known as ____.

means-tested programs

The welfare reform act of 1996 (TANF, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) emphasized the need to find employment as one of its requirements. -- True/False

True

Recent changes to Social Security mean that individuals can retire with full benefits at age 67. -- True/False

True

According to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, almost half of older adults have been kept out of poverty by the Social Security program. -- True/False

True

Over the past two decades, income of U.S. citizens has become more equitably distributed across income levels. -- True/False

False

summarizes the structure of the federal judiciary?

The Supreme Court, circuit and federal district courts, and various specialty courts