Deck 3: Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations

Question 1

In the United States, the national and state governments have both independent and shared powers over their citizens, but the national and state governments do not owe their existences to each other.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The U.S.government, which relies primarily on inelastic sources of revenue such as income taxes, is the least efficient at generating revenue, while at the same time it is the level of government most relied upon to deliver costly social services.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Since the early 1800s, the courts in the United States have acted as "umpires" by defining the acceptable boundaries of intergovernmental relations.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Which of the following was not an inherent purpose of block grants?

A)Reducing overall intergovernmental spending
B)Subordinating national purposes to those of the states
C)Eliminating substantial numbers of categorical grants
D)Turning over programmatic control to local governing bodies

Question 5

The "fiscal mismatch" is responsible for all but one of the following trends since 1960:

A)increased intergovernmental transfers.
B)increased importance of fiscal federalism.
C)increased indirect control of state and local affairs by the national government.
D)increased direct control of state and local affairs by the national government.

Question 6

Legislation that applied pressure to state governments to raise the minimum drinking age to twenty-one is an example of

A)intergovernmental regulation.
B)transfer of programmatic jurisdictions between state and national governments.
C)decentralization.
D)categorical grants.

Question 7

Devolution is defined as a process of transferring power or functions from a __________ level of government to a ___________ level of government.

A)smaller; larger
B)superior; inferior
C)higher; lower
D)state; federal

Question 8

Which of the following was not a rationale used between 1960 and 1980 in favor of national grant-in-aid programs?

A)Equalizing resources per capita among richer and poorer states
B)Improving the service of state and local government programs
C)Establishing nationwide standards for programs funded by the national government
D)Yielding total program control to state and local elected officials

Question 9

Intergovernmental relations are characterized by mostly informal, continuous contacts between officials at different levels of government who share or exchange information and views or agree on the terms of sharing of jurisdiction.

Question 10

A study published in October 1993 claimed that 25 percent of all local government budgets were needed to meet federal regulatory standards.

Question 11

Which of the following is not a form of federalism in U.S.history?

A)Bamboo-fence federalism
B)Dual federalism
C)Marble cake federalism
D)Picket-fence federalism
E)Reserve federalism

Question 12

A change in intergovernmental management instituted by the Reagan administration was

A)abandoning of the intergovernmental mandate system.
B)the seeking of no new categorical grant authorizations.
C)abolition of Federal Regional Councils.
D)rescinding Executive Order (EO) 12372.

Question 13

The AARA stands for the

A)American Assertive Representative Association.
B)Association for American Recession Applicants.
C)American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
D)American Association of Retired Academics.

Question 14

A form of fiscal assistance given for relatively narrow and specific purposes defined by the grantor are

A)block grants.
B)categorical grants.
C)formula grants.
D)project grants.

Question 15

Which of the following does not involve IGR?

A)The use of the promulgation of regulations by administrative agencies as a vehicle for intergovernmental control
B)Jurisdictional conflict between national and state governments
C)The Iran-Contra affair as a violation of the system of checks and balances
D)Conflict between the Snow Belt and Sun Belt for federal funding

Question 16

All the following are examples of policy areas that share an intergovernmental dimension except

A)homeland security.
B)foreign policy.
C)air pollution.
D)agriculture.

Question 17

__________ are the most inelastic of the major taxes used in the United States.

A)Graduated income taxes
B)Non-graduated income taxes
C)Personal and real property taxes
D)Sales taxes
E)Excise taxes

Question 18

The _______ fence federalism model includes various size vertical posts for each federal government department.

A)picket
B)bamboo
C)marble
D)cake

Question 19

The Bush administration eliminated many grant-in-aid programs but increased grant-in-aid spending, whereas the Clinton administration promoted reductions in grant-in-aid spending.

Question 20

Which of the following is(are) involved in intergovernmental relations?

A)Legislative branch
B)Appointed officials
C)Non-appointed civil service
D)Elected state and local officials
E)All of the above

Question 21

In the picket-fence analogy, money and authority run vertically along programs from upper to lower levels of government agencies, while the legislative and executive branches of government, the horizontal slats, can do little to support or affect the vertical slats, or programs.

Question 22

Intergovernmental relations (IGRs) have existed in the United States only since the early 1930s.

Question 23

The supremacy doctrine states that when laws passed by a lower level of government conflict with those at a higher level of government, then the lower law is null and void.

Question 24

Formula grants provide the most administrative discretion, and state and local governments must apply to receive this form of grant-in-aid.