Lesson 1.6: America's Mixed Economy

Flashcards made from a presentation segment created as a lesson on America's mixed economy.

Free enterprise

A system that enables entrepreneurs with ideas and persistence to start business and experience success while allowing consumers a great deal of economic freedom

Private property

The right, enshrined in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, to own property individually

Eminent domain

System where the government can take property from a person for public reasons with compensation at fair market value

Taxation

The government’s power to levy taxes on the citizens through incomes and other sources

Interest groups

Groups made up of consumers that aim to influence public officials to act in ways that benefit members

Laissez-faire economics

The idea of minimal governmental interference in the workings of the market

Governmental role

To carry out constitutional responsibilities and protect property rights, contracts, and other business activities while also ensuring informed, healthy, and safe consumers

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

Federal regulatory agency that enforces safety standards

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Federal regulatory agency that enforces fair employment standards

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Federal regulatory agency that enforces pollution standards

Negative regulatory effects

Rules may be costly to implement, stifle competition, or lead to increased enforcement spending

Business cycle

The periods of growth followed by decline by businesses nationwide due to decisions on price, production, and consumption

Innovation

Research and development by institutions and the government to create new technologies for economic growth

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA)

An act by the United States government that allocated $700 billion to purchase distressed assets, especially mortgage-backed securities, while supplying liquidity to banks to stabilize the economy and regain consumer confidence