gov final

During which part of the public policy cycle does the government explore potential policy responses?

policy formulation

What type of policy is geared towards promoting equality?

redistributive

Which of the following would be an accurate description of a regulatory policy?

The implementation of an anti-trust law to prevent monopolies.

What is a key driving force in the agenda setting phase?

ideology and values

What is the role of the court system during the agenda setting phase?

Court decisions could face action by the other branches or create new political forces.

The ability for the media to highlight issues to the public is known as their \____________________ role.

gatekeeper

What is the name of a coalition of groups and individuals that organize to promote a common cause and may influential during the policy formulation phase?

issue network

Which of the following does not lead to fragmentation within the policy process?

unified government

Which type of policy would be exemplified by a federal subsidy that is funded by all taxpayers and only benefits a concentrated group of agricultural producers?

client politics

What is the greatest revenue source for the federal government?

individual income tax

Trespass laws are an example of a type of law that gives concrete meaning to what constitutes:

property

A contract is meaningless unless it is:

enforceable

Common terminology, uniform weights and measures, and consistent specifications for both quantities and qualities of goods are called:

market standards

Why are market standards so important to a functioning market economy?

They help people understand what they are bargaining for.

The provision of an interstate highway system is considered to be a:

public good

Many sectors of agriculture receive federal subsidies.

True

Universal compulsory education is an example of government efforts to:

create a labor force

Individuals or firms engaging in private behavior that has broad social consequences are said to be creating:

externalities

When Microsoft was sued for business practices that allegedly could have made it the only viable provider of certain software, it was accused of trying to form a(n):

monopoly

Which term describes the inefficient allocation of society's economic resources?

a market failure

Which term describes a market failure resulting from speculative buying that drives up the price of major commodities to levels exceeding their intrinsic value?

a bubble

What is one of the most important ways that government can protect welfare and property?

by maintaining law and order

What are the basic prerequisites of economic growth?

strong public investment, technological innovation, and a productive workforce

The most important federal agency in regards to the regulation of financial markets is the:

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

According to Keynesian principles, which of the following actions by the federal government provides a means to spark economic growth?

public investment

The market value of the goods and services produced in an economy minus income from foreign investments is the:

gross domestic product (GDP)

Before the 1930s, what were the attitudes of the federal and state governments toward full employment?

Neither the federal nor the state governments worked to promote full employment.

According to Keynesian principles, public investment is an important source of growth in the American economy.

True

Inflation is caused by:

too many dollars chasing relatively few goods

National tariff policies promote domestic markets by:

restricting imported goods

Government funds given to a state or locality that are earmarked by law for specific categories are called:

categorical grants-in-aid

Many market standards are developed by private-sector trade associations.

True

What is the government entity that offers loans, loan guarantees, and disaster assistance to small businesses?

Small Business Association (SBA)

The agency that oversees bargaining between workers and industry is the:

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

Which book published in the early 1900s galvanized public concern about unsanitary food processing?

The Jungle

The income tax was added to the Constitution with the Twenty-seventh Amendment.

False

Which of the following hypothetical policies is a monetary policy?

a policy where the federal government buys securities to release more money into the economy

The modern system of central banks that facilitates exchanges of cash, checks, and credit is called the:

Federal Reserve System

The amount of liquid assets and ready cash that banks are required to hold to meet depositors' demands for their money is called the:

reserve requirement

The power of the central banking system in the United States to buy and sell government securities to increase or decrease the supply of money in the economy is called:

open-market operations

The government's use of taxing and spending powers to manipulate the economy is called:

fiscal policy

Markets always produce efficient outcomes.

False

A sales tax is deemed as \__________ because everybody pays at the same rate, so that the total income paid in taxes goes down as the total income goes up.

regressive

The amount by which government spending exceeds revenues in a fiscal year is called the:

budget deficit

The proportion of the federal budget devoted to mandatory spending is:

large and growing

The traditional approach to social welfare policy with its severe distinction between deserving and undeserving poor and its domination by the private sector crumbled in response to the:

Great Depression

Which of the following does not explain why the United States was one of the last Western democracies to enter into a realm of social policy?

Americans believed that poverty and dependence were problems inherent in the economy.

What is the first goal of social policies?

to protect against risks that most people face over the course of their lives

Americans have a relatively long history of taking public responsibility for inequalities of opportunity.

False

An example of a less controversial policy issue that protects against risks and insecurities that most people face is:

Social Security

Most spending on social welfare in the United States goes to such programs as:

Social Security and medical insurance for the elderly

Efforts designed to alleviate poverty by distributing benefits based on demonstrated need are considered to be:

means-tested

Presidential initiative is most important when the policy at issue is:

redistributive

The foundations of the current American welfare state were established by the:

Social Security Act

Contributory programs are financed by taxation, which justifiably can be called:

forced savings

A tiny increase in the tax liability of the top income earners can result in a quite significant transfer of income from the upper income brackets to the lower.

True

Social plans financed in whole or in part by taxation or other mandatory investments by their present or future recipients are described as:

contributory programs

Probably the greatest long-term threat to the viability of the Social Security system is the:

pending retirement of baby boomers

The largest single expansion in contributory programs after 1935 was the establishment in 1965 of:

Medicare

Most spending on social welfare in the United States goes to such programs as TANF and other efforts to alleviate poverty.

False

Which of the following does not explain the escalating costs associated with Medicare?

Medicare is a means-tested noncontributory program.

The Obama administration brought about a major expansion of federal health care policy when it passed the:

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Proponents of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act argued that which of the following would occur if it was signed into law?

The law would lower health care costs by imposing greater efficiencies on providers and reducing fraud.

An example of a noncontributory program is:

Medicaid

Because of their potential redistributive effect, it is extremely difficult to get social policies on the agenda of the president and Congress.

True

In 1996, Congress abolished the AFDC and replaced it with the:

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant

Which of the following is NOT an example of a means-tested program?

Medicare

Coupons provided to needy persons by the federal government that can be exchanged for food at most grocery stores are called:

food stamps

The first priority of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was to reduce poverty.

False

Publicly funded schools that are free from the bureaucratic rules of the school district in which they are located and are thus able to innovatively use resources to design specialized curricula are called \________ schools.

charter

The president who promised to "end welfare as we know it" was:

Bill Clinton

One argument against the welfare system is that it lays most of the blame for society's woes on:

the system

"Single mothers are more than twice as likely as the average American to fall below the poverty line." This statement exemplifies which of the following phenomena?

the feminization of poverty

In 1996, President Clinton signed the promised welfare reform bill into the law called:

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)

The federal role in education policy was substantially increased in 2001 by President George W. Bush's signature education law called:

No Child Left Behind

In his farewell address, which president warned the American people to "steer clear of permanent alliances" and "to have . . . as little political connection as possible" with foreign nations?

George Washington

To many Americans, what is the chief purpose of the nation's foreign policy?

protecting America's security

A terrorist group is an example of a(n):

non-state actor

The Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have historically worked very well together to coordinate American foreign policy in the direction of a single, unified strategy.

False

A country with a government and a fixed border is known as a:

nation-state

Which term describes the desire to avoid involvement in the affairs of other nations?

isolationism

The Monroe Doctrine is based on which of the following principles?

isolationism

What does a policy of deterrence require?

having large military forces

The United States and Canada left Mexico largely out of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

False

Which of the following is an example of deterrence?

The United States moves to increase the size of the military to discourage attack.

The era of confrontation with the former Soviet Union is known as the:

Cold War

An agreement to offer a trading partner the lowest tariff rate given to other trading partners is called:

most favored nation status

What is the most important international organization for promoting free trade?

WTO

International humanitarian policies are typically considered

secondary in importance relative to economic and security policies

What would the framers of the Constitution think of the president's ability to commit U.S. military forces abroad?

They would be surprised since Congress was assigned the power to declare war.

Congress has only declared war five times in American history.

True

The primary entrance of the Senate into foreign-policy making today is its role in:

approving treaties

The president can create legally binding understandings between the United States and another country without seeking the advice and consent of the Senate by using:

an executive agreement

Which American interest group based on identification with its nation of origin has the reputation for having the strongest influence on foreign policy?

Jewish Americans

Which of the following is not an instrument of modern American foreign policy?

unilateral security

Most peacekeeping efforts in which the United States participates take place under the auspices of the United Nations.

True

The purpose of diplomacy is to:

promote national interests by peaceful means

Which of the following is an example of a "diplomatic solution?"

Secretary of State John Kerry engages in talks with Russia to find a solution to the threat of Iranian nuclear weapons development.

Which of the following is an organization, founded in 1945, that acts as a channel for negotiations and a means of settling international disputes peaceably?

the United Nations

Which international institution was established to provide short-term flow of money to help overcome temporary trade deficits?

International Monetary Fund