Chapter 22 Vocab (Gov)

mixed economy

15. A SYSTEM IN WHICH THE GOVERNMENT REGULATES PRIVATE ENTERPRISE. The government promotes and protects private enterprise, like our economic system in America. For example, placing tariffs on foreign items protects workers' jobs and business.

tariff

A TAX PLACED ON AN IMPORT TO INCREASE ITS PRICE IN THE DOMESTIC MARKET

subsidy

A GRANT OR GIFT OF MONEY. there are four types. Tax incentives, free services, government loans, and direct cash payments

trust

. A FORM OF BUSINESS CONSOLIDATION IN WHICH SEVERAL CORPORATIONS COMBINE THEIR STOCK AND ALLOW A BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO OPERATE AS A GIANT ENTERPRISE. can set production quotas, fix prices, and control the market, which could create a monopoly.

monopoly

A BUSINESS THAT CONTROLS SO MUCH OF AN INDUSTRY THAT LITTLE OR NO COMPETITION EXISTS.

interlocking directorate

THE SAME PEOPLE SERVING ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF COMPETING COMPANIES. This could also be very bad for the economy because it diminishes or takes away competition for a certain business, and can create a monopoly.

oligopoly

. SITUATION IN WHICH ONLY A FEW FIRMS DOMINATE A PARTICULAR INDUSTRY.

security

. A FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT, INCLUDING A BOND, NOTE, AND CERTIFICATE, THAT IS SOLD AS A MEANS OF BORROWING MONEY WITH A PROMISE TO REPAY THE BUYER WITH INTEREST AFTER A SPECIFIC TIME PERIOD. The Securities and Exchange Commission regulates them.

collective bargaining

THE PRACTICE OF NEGOTIATING LABOR CONTRACTS.usually practiced by workers or unions, because they want to negotiate their specific wages, hours, and working conditions on their labor contracts.

closed shop

A WORKPLACE WHERE ONLY MEMBERS OF A UNION MAY BE HIRED.

right-to-work law

STATE LABOR LAWS THAT REQUIRE THAT ALL WORKPLACES BE OPEN SHOPS WHERE WORKERS MAY FREELY DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO JOIN A UNION. This is necessary because workers should have the choice whether or not to join a union. These laws attract business to the state. There is controversy on these laws, and some people say they were created to weaken unions.

NAFTA (north american free trade agreement)

. This agreement was signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States in 1992, and was designed to gradually eliminate trade restrictions amongst trading partners.

Department of Commerce

EXISTS TO "FOSTER, PROMOTE, AND DEVELOP THE FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES". Main functions are to provide information services, financial assistance, and research and development services.

SBA (Small Business Administration)

. This is an independent federal agency that gives free advice and information to businesses. Competition is important to the free enterprise system, so federal, state, and local governments try to help small businesses.

Sherman Antitrust Act

IMPORTANT LAW TO BREAK UP MONOPOLY. Violating this law is a felony. It states, "Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several states, or with foreign nations is hereby declared to be illegal...Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or cimbine or conspire with any other person or persons to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several states...shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."

Clayton Antitrust Act

PROHIBITED CHARGING HIGH PRICES IN AN AREA WHERE LITTLE COMPETITION EXISTS, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME CHARGING LOWER PRICES IN AN AREA WITH STRONG COMPETITION. This act also said that businesses could not buy stock in other corporations in order to reduce competition, and outlawed interlocking directorates.

FTC (federal trade commission)

. Independent regulatory agency that works to prevent unfair business practices. They work to create standards, that companies must follow.

The Jungle

NOVEL BY UPTON SINCLAIR. This novel is where Upton SInclair exposed the horrific conditions in a meatpacking house. Congress passed a lot of federal consumer protection laws in response, to avoid unsafe practices in the food industry.

Pure Food and Drug Act

CREATED IN 1906. These laws made it illegal for a company engaged in interstate commerce to sell contaminated, unhealthful, or falsely labeled foods or drugs and provided for federal inspection of all meatpacking companies that sold meats across state lines.

FDA (Food and drug administration)

This administration protects the public from poorly process and improperly tested prepared food, cosmetics, drugs, and other products.

CFPB

Congress created this after the recession of 2007-2008 exposed issues in the baking and consumer finance sectors. They enforce federal consumer financial protection laws, educate Americans about financial services, and restricts unfair or deceptive practices.

CPSC

. This is a result of the consumer movement, and was created in 1972. This was set up to protect consumers form "unreasonable risk of injury from hazardous products". They establish safety standards for a wide range of products, that they must meet.

SEC (securities exchange commission)

This was created in the Great Depression, and this commission regulates the trading of securities, or stocks and bonds.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

CREATED IN 2002. When the SEC failed to catch a bankruptcy problem, this act required chief executive officers and chief financial officers of publicly traded companies to personally sign SEC reports and pay penalties if improper accounting is discovered.

West Coast Hotel v. Parrish (1937)

A business owner who was paying less than minimum wage claimed that the minimum wage law deprived the employer of freedom of contract. The Supreme Court upheld the minimum wage set by the Industrial Welfare Committee of the state of Washington.

NLRB

This board was created to strengthen the labor laws, and had power to supervise elections to determine which union a group of workers wanted to represent it. The board could also hear labor's complains and issue "cease and desist" orders to end unfair labor practices.

Taft-Hartley Act

This law aimed to limit the power and activities of unions.

Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959

This act made it a federal crime to misuse union funds and also protected union members from being intimidated by union officials.

USDA (united states department of agriculture)

. Its chief functions are to help farmers market their produce, stabilize farm prices, conserve land, and promote research.

price supports

THE PROGRAM UNDER WHICH CONGRESS BUYS FARMERS' CROPS IF THE MARKET PRICE FALLS BELOW A CERTAIN PRICE.

citizen suit

A LAWSUIT BY A PRIVATE CITIZEN TO REQUIRE A BUSINESS OR GOVERNMENT AGENCY TO ENFORCE A LAW.

renewable energy

WIND, SOLAR, AND GEOTHERMAL SOURCES OF ENERGY.

a "Farm Bill"

AGRICULTURAL POLICY LEGISLATION. Each bill is debated and passed every five to seven years, and each one has a different name.

EPA

This was the federal government's attempt to clean up the air and water. This agency was given jobs to create regulations aimed at protecting our environment.

Clean Air Act

. PASSED IN 1963. This act has been amended several times, and has become the federal government's major tool for controlling air pollution on a national level. This law gives the EPA the power to set and enforce air quality standards for a wide variety of pollutants.

Water Pollution Control Act

PASSED IN 1972. All polluters, whether they were cities, industries, or farmers, needed a permit to dump waste into waterways.

unfunded mandate

. PROGRAMS ORDERED BUT NOT PAID FOR BY FEDERAL LEGISLATION. When implementation costs grew each year, state and local leaders were complaining about these mandates, leading to the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

fracking

PROCEDURE USED TO EXTRACT FUEL FROM SHALE DEPOSITS. This procedure has raised environmental concerns.

income security program

GOVERNMENT PROGRAM DESIGNED TO HELP ELDERLY, ILL, AND UNEMPLOYED CITIZENS. Social Security is an example.

unemployment insurance

PROGRAMS IN WHICH THE FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS COOPERATE TO PROVIDE HELP FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE OUT OF WORK. This is one of the components of the Social Security Act.

Medicare

1965 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STARTED FUNDING HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAMS FOR SENIORS AND THE POOR.

Medicaid

. DESIGNED TO HELP PEOPLE PAY HOSPITAL, DOCTOR, AND OTHER MEDICAL BILLS FOR PERSONS WITH LOW INCOMES. General federal, state, and local taxes fund this program, and it aids more that 71 million people at a cost of more that $414 billion each year.

Social Security Act of 1935

This law marked the beginning of federal social policy aimed at providing at least some economic security for all Americans. This act set up unemployment insurance programs for people who were out of work.

Social Security Administration

SSA. This Administration is an independent executive agency with local offices around the country. People worry about them staying afloat financially.

SSI (Supplemental Security Income)

This was set up by Congress in 1974, and brought all state programs for low-income persons who are elderly, blind, or disabled under federal control.

SNAP(Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs)

The purpose of this program was to increase the food-buying power of low-income families and to help dispose of America's surplus agricultural production.

TANF

This was a new welfare program to provide lump-sum payments to the states and gives states wide authority to design and operate their own welfare programs. The goal was to make this aid a temporary solution until permanent work and self-sufficiency were reestablished.

Affordable Care Act of 2010

The four major components are expanding Medicaid, preventing insurance companies from denying coverage to sick people or charging them more than others, requiring all Americans to buy health insurance, and requiring large employers to provide health insurance to their employees.

individual mandate

. Law with a REQUIREMENT THAT EVERYONE BUY INSURANCE. In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that individual mandate was constitutional, but other parts of Medicaid expansion were not.

CHIP (childrens health insurane program)

Provides coverage to about 8 million children whose families earn too much to receive Medicaid but still cannot afford private insurance.

CDC

A federal agency that focus on controlling the speed of infectious disease.

NSF

An agency that scientists can apply to to receive funding to conduct their research.

NOAA (national oceanic atmospheric administration)

. NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION. Has scientists monitoring wetlands.

NCLB (no child left behind act)

This is a law had a goal to close the "achievement gap" between white and minority students, as well as frebetween rich and poor. The law set standards to help schools achieve these goals.

Morrill Act

This act granted the states more than 13 million acres of public acres of public land for the endowment of colleges to teach agriculture and the mechanical arts.

GI bills of rights

PASSED BY CONGRESS. Gave veterans of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War grants to attend college.

Common Core State Standards

SINGLE SET OF STANDARDS FOR ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS AND MATH. As of 2013, 45 states and the District of Columbia had voluntarily adopted the standards.

HUD

A federal agency created to promote building and purchasing houses

FHA (federal housing administration)

Guarantees banks and other private lenders against losses on loans they make to those who want to build or buy homes.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

TWO MORTGAGE CORPORATIONS. privately owned companies, but they were protected by the federal government. They were exempt from state and local income taxes and regulated by HUD. There was an assumption that the U.S. government would bail them out of financial trouble. The two companies ended up facing bankruptcy crisis, which made the federal government take control in order not to lose billions of dollars. Congress had an issue with the way they were bailed out.

public housing projects

GOVERNMENT-SUBSIDIZED HOUSING FOR LOW INCOME FAMILIES

Section 8

AKA HOUSING CHOICE VENDOR PROGRAM. Now the largest low-income housing program in the country. Lower income families receive vouchers from their local public housing agency and use them to rent homes or apartments from private landlords.

Federal Aid Highway Act

. This oversees federal highways and their funding, applies federal safety standards to trucks and buses, and plans and researches highway construction and maintenance.

collective naturalization

A PROCESS BY WHICH A GROUP OF PEOPLE BECOME AMERICAN CITIZENS THROUGH AN ACT OF CONGRESS. Congress uses this process to grant citizenship to people who had been living in the territory that is now Texas.

quotas

NUMERICAL LIMITS ON HOW MANY IMMIGRANTS ARE ALLOWED IN FROM EACH COUNTRY.

amnesty

A PRESIDENTIAL ORDER THAT PARDONS A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE COMMITTED AN OFFENSE AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT.

visa

A SPECIAL DOCUMENT, REQUIRED BY CERTAIN COUNTRIES, ISSUED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COUNTRY THAT A PERSON WISHES TO ENTER.

green card

A DOCUMENT ISSUED BY THE GOVERNMENT THAT SHOWS A PERSON HAS PERMISSIONS TO LIVE AND WORK IN THE UNITED STATES. The government issues this to people who become legal permanent residents.

asylum

REFUGE OR HUMANITARIAN PROTECTION GIVEN BY A COUNTRY. This is one of the two programs that the United States offers to provide refuge or humanitarian protection. This is a program for people who are already in the United States and their immediate relatives.

refugee

A PERSON FLEEING A COUNTRY TO ESCAPE PERSECUTION OR DANGER.

IRCA (Immigration Reform and Control Act)

This act tried to limit undocumented immigration by requiring employers to verify that potential employers were qualified to work in the United States.