Deck 8: Income- and Asset-Based Social Policies and Programs

Question 1

"Absolute poverty" refers to:

A) people who are very poor
B) people who have been poor their entire lives
C) people whose incomes fall below the federal poverty line
D) people who consider themselves poor in both assets and income

Answer 1

C

Question 2

"Relative poverty" refers to:

A) people whose incomes fall below what is generally considered to be an adequate standard of living in a society
B) people whose incomes fall right at the poverty line
C) people whose families are poor, even if they are not
D) immigrants who are poor in the United States but would not be poor in their countries of origin

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The methodology of establishing the poverty line assumes that:

A) African Americans have less money than whites
B) poverty should be calculated differently based on the state in which the household resides
C) one-third of an individual or household's taxable income is spent on food
D) people need different amounts of income based on their fixed expenses

Answer 3

C

Question 4

An example of a 'universal' social program is:

A) Old Age, Survivors, Disability and Health Insurance
B) Food Stamps
C) Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
D) Section 8 housing

Question 5

Workers' Compensation is funded by:

A) payroll deductions from workers
B) state general funds
C) the federal government
D) employers, who purchase policies from insurance companies

Question 6

Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) is commonly referred to as:

A) Supplemental Security Income
B) Medicaid
C) long-term care insurance
D) Social Security

Question 7

Among the changes enacted to OASDI in recent years are:

A) reduction in benefit levels
B) increase in the retirement age
C) dramatic increase in the cost of living adjustment
D) substantial reforms to eliminate the gender bias in Social Security

Question 8

The program that provides income to meet basic needs when workers have lost jobs is called:

A) General Assistance
B) Workers' Compensation
C) Unemployment Insurance
D) Temporary Assistance to Needy Families

Question 9

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families is funded by:

A) a block grant from the federal government to the states
B) categorical grants
C) payroll taxes on workers' earnings
D) contributions from private employers

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT a stated goal of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families?

A) end families' dependence on government benefits by promoting job preparation and work
B) encourage formation and maintenance of two-parent families
C) prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies
D) reduce poverty to below the pre-1996 level

Question 11

To determine eligibility for public housing assistance, the Department of Housing and Urban Development relies on:

A) relative poverty measures
B) absolute incomes below the federal poverty line
C) the aggregate need for housing in the specific area
D) eligibility for other means-tested programs

Question 12

Supplemental Security Income provides income assistance to:

A) low-income families with children
B) single mothers
C) poor people who are elderly, blind, or have disabilities
D) people who live in states with very high costs of living

Question 13

General Assistance is:

A) a federally-funded program to provide income support for those who do not qualify for TANF
B) a term used to describe all the government's means-tested programs
C) restricted to individuals with disabilities
D) funded entirely by the few states, counties, and localities that still administer it

Question 14

Which of the following is included in the calculation of income according to the poverty threshold?

A) the value of Food Stamps received by the household
B) the family's asset holdings
C) expenses for essential items like childcare, health care, and food
D) Supplemental Security Income

Question 15

Universal Basic Income policies:

A) would move the poverty line
B) provide job training to ensure that all Americans could qualify for jobs paying more than minimum wage
C) provide a uniform benefit to all individuals, regardless of income
D) are means-tested, to lift even the poorest Americans up to the poverty threshold

Question 16

Children's Savings Accounts are:

A) special accounts set up for children in foster care, so they have some money before they age out
B) sometimes called Child Development Accounts
C) savings accounts set up early, seeded with public or private dollars, and progressively matched, to help families save for their children's futures
D) Both b and c

Question 17

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, tasked with studying ways to reduce child poverty in the U.S., concluded that:

A) it is impossible to reduce child poverty, since children cannot work, which is the only way to exit poverty
B) a mix of policies tied to work, modifications to safety net programs, and other innovations could make substantial inroads in reducing child poverty in the U.S.
C) Congress should immediately institute a Universal Basic Income
D) no other countries have policy options that could inform approaches in the U.S.

Question 18

Discuss at least two limitations of the current calculation of federal poverty thresholds.

Question 19

Given broad acknowledgement of imperfections of the current federal poverty measure, what explains why it has not been replaced with a different measure?

Question 20

Universal programs are more efficient to administer and less stigmatizing for recipients. What, then, explains why the U.S. still provides many of its social welfare benefits through residual programs?

Question 21

From a social work perspective, what are some of the concerns associated with increasing the retirement age within Social Security?

Question 22

Name at least two ways women are disadvantaged within the Social Security system, as compared to men.

Question 23

What are two types of housing assistance provided through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development?

Question 24

Briefly evaluate the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) from the strengths perspective.

Question 25

Describe at least three TANF reforms from a strengths perspective.

Question 26

Some advocates of Social Security privatization criticize the program's current lack of "choice" for beneficiaries. Choice is an important criterion for policy analysts from the strengths perspective. Explain why or why not you think that strengths-based social workers should support Social Security privatization.

Question 27

Name one advantage and one disadvantage of shifting our focus from income-based to asset-based poverty, from a social work/strengths perspective.