Deck 9: Welfare and Social Security Policy

Question 1

Redistributive policies and programs are those through which ______.

A) government redistributes tax laws to affect different sets of individuals
B) government provides grants or programs without collecting money from other individuals
C) government initiates educational programs to influence public behavior
D) government provides benefits to one group of individuals by collecting money from other individuals

Answer 1

D

Question 2

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

A) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
B) Federal Anti-Poverty Program
C) National Unemployment Aid Program
D) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

Answer 2

D

Question 3

______ is the largest expenditure for a domestic program in the United States.

A) Social Security
B) Education
C) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
D) Environment

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Privatization of Social Security is one of the major proposals for reform. Privatization refers to ______.

A) the government contracts with private organizations to manage the trust fund
B) private individuals that are responsible to monitor the benefits for which they are eligible
C) the federal government that subsidizes poor individuals who have worked in the private sector
D) the government that provides funds to individuals that they are responsible to invest

Question 5

One of the challenges to reforming the social security program is the influence of strong advocacy groups such as ______, an active group representing the interests of ______.

A) AARP (American Association for Retired People); older adults
B) ARA (American Retiree Advocates); older adults
C) the Tea Party; conservatives
D) Citizens United; young adults

Question 6

Who is entitled to receive Social Security benefits?

A) retirees age 66 and up, people with certain disabilities, and certain family members
B) retirees age 70 and up and their dependents
C) the poor and the elderly age 65 and up
D) retirees age 66 and up only

Question 7

Which of the following proposals to reform Social Security financing would lead to increased revenues to the program?

A) increasing the retirement age
B) reducing or delaying cost-of-living adjustments
C) lifting the cap on the amount of wages subject to the Social Security tax
D) privatization of investments

Question 8

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a refundable federal income tax for working individuals and families that is intended to ______.

A) encourage people to work
B) reduce the culture of poverty
C) encourage people to file income taxes
D) reduce the TANF caseload

Question 9

By the year 2033, it is estimated that only ______ workers will be paying for each Social Security beneficiary.

A) four
B) three
C) two
D) five

Question 10

Recent changes to Social Security mean that individuals can retire with full benefits at age ______.

A) 67
B) 63
C) 65
D) 62

Question 11

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

A) 20%
B) 30%
C) 40%
D) 51%

Question 12

The ______ provides funds for the purchase of food to ensure nutritional requirements.

A) food stamp program
B) Medicaid program
C) school lunch program
D) nutrition labeling program

Question 13

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) emphasized ______.

A) personal responsibility and subsidies for the elderly
B) welfare subsidies for families with children and children's health care
C) work requirements for those receiving subsidies and lifetime limits
D) expansion of the federal food assistance programs

Question 14

According to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, what was the effect of the Social Security program on the poverty rates of older adults?

A) Almost half of older adults were kept out of poverty by the social security program.
B) The program was ineffective on many measures.
C) One in 10 older adults was kept out of poverty by Social Security.
D) The situation is too complex to determine impacts.

Question 15

When it comes to reforming Social Security financing, most objections raised by interest groups on both sides have to do with the evaluative criterion of ______.

A) effectiveness
B) technical feasibility
C) equity
D) buoyancy

Question 16

There are approximately ______ million people were considered to be impoverished in the United States in 2017.

A) 40
B) 55
C) 60
D) 90

Question 17

Social Security is called a "pay as you go" system. This means that ______.

A) benefits that the U.S. government currently pays out are funded through currently collected taxes
B) individuals control the investment of their Social Security dollars (also called privatized)
C) it is a means-tested program
D) money taken out for Social Security today will pay for benefits in the future

Question 18

The Gini coefficient measures ______.

A) tax rates
B) income inequality
C) poverty rates
D) welfare spending

Question 19

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

A) financial resources to purchase food
B) welfare assistance for children
C) retirement pensions for older adults
D) free education to families in poverty

Question 20

With the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program became ______.

A) work for impoverished families
B) welfare to work
C) temporary assistance for needy families
D) subsidy for needy children

Question 21

Which of the following is currently a "means-tested" program?

A) social security
B) welfare
C) Medicare
D) farm subsidies

Question 22

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

A) create higher wage jobs for the poor
B) reduce the number of people living in poverty
C) assist people to obtain adequate and affordable housing
D) reduce unemployment

Question 23

For 2016, the federal government placed a family of four below the poverty line if its annual income was less than ______ in the 48 contiguous states.

A) 25,100
B) 26,800
C) 30,300
D) 35,000

Question 24

Social Security would typically be categorized as what type of federal spending?

A) entitlement
B) discretionary
C) interest
D) defense

Question 25

Political perspectives on the root causes of poverty vary. Conservatives tend to see poverty as a result of ______, while liberals are more likely to believe that poverty is the result of ______.

A) personal choice; economic and social conditions outside of one's control
B) welfare programs; a lack of government programs
C) government; corporations
D) a lack of education; a lack of equal opportunity

Question 26

What is the difference between means-tested programs and social insurance programs?

Question 27

One of the major risks that opponents criticize regarding the proposal to partially privatize Social Security funding is that ______.

A) employers may fail to participate
B) individuals may not make wise investment choices for the money they are responsible to invest
C) too many individuals will participate, leading to a breakdown of the system
D) the federal government will not be able to fund even the smaller portion for which it is responsible

Question 28

What is the Gini coefficient and what is it used for?

Question 29

Provide an example of an entitlement program.

Question 30

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

A) It has reduced poverty for minorities.
B) A large number of people still remain impoverished.
C) It led to a consistent decline in the child poverty level.
D) All of these.

Question 31

Poverty in the United States came to a head during ______.

A) 1950s
B) 1960s
C) 1970s
D) 1980s

Question 32

The main problem with the social security program is that ______.

A) it will soon run out of money since, as a welfare program, it is politically unpopular
B) it will soon run out of money to pay benefits because few workers will be paying into the system
C) it will soon run out of money; it's financed through taxes at a time when governments are reducing taxes
D) it will soon run out of money because of the increase in employed workers trying to access benefits

Question 33

What is the purpose of SNAP?

Question 34

Put the following demographic groups in descending order of poverty rate (i.e., highest rate listed first, lowest rate last).

A) older adults, children, adults (age 18-64)
B) children, older adults, adults (age 18-64)
C) adults (age 18-64), children, older adults
D) children, adults (age 18-64), older adults

Question 35

What are the benefits of raising the federal minimum wage?

Question 36

Over the past two decades, which statement best describes the income distribution of U.S. citizens?

A) Income has become more equitably distributed.
B) Income has become more concentrated in the hands of fewer wealthy individuals.
C) Income quintiles have declined.
D) The Gini coefficient has declined.

Question 37

The current social security program, financed by payroll taxes, is capped at just over US$132,900 of income. This is an example of ______.

A) a regressive tax
B) an unfunded mandate
C) a progressive tax
D) privatization

Question 38

Explain COLA. How is it measured?

Question 39

One of the major criticisms of the federal poverty level is that ______.

A) it is too high
B) the poverty-line calculation is based on assumptions made in the mid-1960s
C) it doesn't take into account the "culture of poverty"
D) it relies too heavily on the Gini coefficient

Question 40

Children make up only 25% of the population, but they comprise ______ of the nation's poor.

A) 15%
B) 33%
C) 46%
D) 55%

Question 41

Should the Social Security payroll tax be capped or limited to the first US$132,900 of wages? Provide reasons that are used to justify both sides of this proposal, that is, in support of and against.

Question 42

Provide an example of a redistributive policy program.

Question 43

Why is Social Security referred to as the political third rail?

Question 44

Discuss the economic, effectiveness, equity, and political issues of President Bush's plan to privatize Social Security financing.

Question 45

What are the goals of the social security program?

Question 46

What is meant by "culture of poverty"?

Question 47

Explain the two major perspectives on the causes of poverty. What implications do these perspectives have on preferred policy options?

Question 48

Identify and discuss the five different categories of social security benefits.

Question 49

What are some of the rules that TANF recipients must follow?

Question 50

Who is eligible for the Supplemental Security Income benefits program?

Question 51

Explain the Earned Income Tax Credit. Who does it benefit?

Question 52

What happens if someone makes over the social security tax capped amount?

Question 53

What factors are taken into consideration when adjusting the poverty rate?

Question 54

Identify the domains of life that interlock so tightly that they must be studied and improved together, according to AEI/Brookings.

Question 55

Why has there been such difference of opinion regarding entitlement programs such as Social Security and welfare? Identify which program has been popular and largely successful and which is seen as the opposite and explain the reasons.

Question 56

Should the retirement age for Social Security be increased? Provide reasons that are used to justify both sides of this proposal, that is, in support of and against.

Question 57

Describe two ways that can be used to measure poverty, the new measure that has been proposed, and implications of implementing a new measure of poverty.

Question 58

What is the name of the major interest group representing seniors?

Question 59

While the privatization of Social Security has received a lot of attention and support, others oppose privatization. Discuss the pros and cons of this proposal.

Question 60

What are the different viewpoints of poverty in the United States?

Question 61

Has welfare reform been a success? Discuss the program's goals and what it intended to accomplish. Can the success or failure of the program be attributed to the welfare reform law? What other issues should be examined?