Government Exam 2

What is a political party?

An organization that tries to influence the government by getting its members elected to office

How are political parties beneficial for democracy?

Political parties help link citizens to the government.

In a proportional representation electoral system..

seats in the legislature are allocated to political parties based on their share of the total vote cast in the election.

The American system for electing members of congress is often referred to as “winner take all” because….

runner-ups do not gain seats in government.

How are party’s candidates who run in the general election selected?

they are elected through party caucuses and primary elections.

What is a general election?

A regularly scheduled election involving most districts min the nation or state in which voters pick office holders.

State legislative districts

vary from a few thousand people in some states to nearly a million in California

Which statement most accurately characterizes positive and negative political advertising?

negative ads tend to focus on important policy differences, which positive ads tend to focus on a candidates personal characteristics.

What did the supreme court mean by “one person, one vote”?

Within a state, electoral districts must have roughly equal populations.

If a citizen votes for a republican for president and a democrat for senator, he or she has engaged in

split-ticket voting

in a (blank) election, voters choose the nominees for their parties. In a (blank) election, voters choose who they want to be officeholders.

Primary, general

(blank) involves intentionally manipulating district boundaries to unfairly advantage one party over the other

partisan gerrymandering

A(n) (blank) is the practice of referring a proposed law passed by the legislature to a vote. A(n) (blank) is a proposed law or policy change that is placed on the ballot by citizens or interest groups for a vote

referendum, inititave

The Christian coalition is a(n) (blank) group

ideological

The poor tend to be less organized into groups because

the lack resources, money, time, and skills required for organization.

One way that the interest groups are effective at overcoming the free-rider problem is by providing (blank) benefits to it’s members.

selective

What are selective benefits?

Incentives that interest groups make available only to those people who are members of their organizations.

Which of the following is the best example of a public good?

the interstate highway system.

The fact that a bottle of Coca Cola cost 0.05 in 1959 and 1,50 today is an example of

inflation

Which of the following best describes the effects of the Great Depression and World War 2?

showed the government could help to ensure full employment

A law passed by congress, a rule issued by bureaucratic agency, and a judicial ruling from the supreme court are all examples of

public policies

Why does the government provide public goods?

because their private sector either would not provide them or would not provide enough of them to meet society’s needs

One way that we measure economic growth is by

gross domestic product

What economic goal did the federal government have when investing in an interstate highway system

it helped facilitate trade, which led to greater business development.

The contributions that a worker makes to social security through his or her taxes

are paid into the social security system and not accumulated in a personal account.

Social security plays a vital role for younger people by providing

survivor benefits to those whose parents die or become disabled

Which of the following is a contributory problem

Medicare

Medicare is a (blank) program, and Medicaid is a (blank) program.

contributory, noncontributory