Deck 18: A Road to Full Employment

Question 1

The stimulus policies of President George W. Bush in 2008 and President Barack Obama in 2009 including all of the following except

A) Tax Cuts
B) Decreases in transfer payments
C) Increases in transfer payments
D) Government spending on infrastructure projects

Answer 1

B

Question 2

"The Obama Administration was able to persuade Congress to enact new monetary rules designed to prevent the financial sector from taking the same kind of outrageous risks that played a role in the financial crisis of 2008."

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Critics of the Obama stimulus bill in 2009 argued that

A) The amount of actual increase in spending was too small to get the economy growing sufficiently fast
B) The spending was wasteful
C) There were not enough tax cuts in the bill
D) All of the above

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Progressive critics of the policies of the Obama Administration in combatting the recession of 2008-2009 argue that

A) There should have been more tax cuts in the stimulus package
B) There were too many crushing financial regulations enacted in the Dodd-Frank Act
C) There is no magical "reset" button for the economy after such a severe financial crisis.
D) All of the above

Question 5

The four key sectors in which public jobs need to be increased as part of a policy to promote full employment are

A) Health care, infrastructure, education, clean energy
B) Health care, national defense, education, clean energy
C) Health care, national defense, space exploration, education
D) Health care, national defense, space exploration, clean energy

Question 6

A Full Employment Act will involve the government guaranteeing a job to everyone who needs one.

Question 7

According to the text, a government provided "public option" for health insurance is essential because

A) It will reduce the costs of private health insurance because of competition from the government provided public option
B) It will increase coverage by making insurance available to everyone, even those who cannot afford private health insurance
C) The reduced cost of private health insurance will reduce overall labor costs in the economy, thereby raising employment
D) All of the above

Question 8

Increased government expenditure on education (according to the text) improves the economy because

A) It increases the productivity of the labor force
B) It increases employment in the construction industry to build the facilities needed by schools
C) It increases employment for teachers
D) All of the above

Question 9

Conservatives argue that government provided services are (almost) always inferior to private-sector alternatives.

Question 10

During the recovery from Great Recession (2009-2012)

A) Both the public sector and the private sector experienced rapid job growth
B) Both the public sector and the private sector experienced slow job growth
C) The public sector saw slow job growth while the private sector lost jobs
D) The private sector saw slow job growth while the public sector lost jobs.

Question 11

Why did states and cities reduce employment as a result of the recession of 2009.

A) States and cities are inefficient in providing services and the public chose to purchase from the private sector.
B) Revenues of states and cities declined and they are not permitted to run deficits
C) People voluntarily left state and city employment because of the generosity of programs to aid the unemployed.
D) None of the above

Question 12

A Conservative argument against a public option in health care is:

A) Government is not a fair competitor-a government plan will force private insurance companies out of business
B) A government plan will be too generous to undeserving people
C) A government plan will give poor quality health care
D) All of the above

Question 13

A Conservative argument against a public option in health care is:

A) Government is not a fair competitor-a government plan will force private insurance companies out of business
B) A government plan will cost too much
C) A government plan will restrict the choice of consumers as to which doctor or hospital to use
D) All of the above

Question 14

Progressive critics of the Obama Administration's health care proposed an alternative that would

A) Rely on giving consumers medical savings accounts with which to buy insurance
B) Have a single government payer for all health care costs financed by taxes
C) Expand access to private insurance with government subsidies
D) Have all health care delivered by government employees such as in the military

Question 15

The text sees some positive aspects to the Affordable Care Act including:

A) It gives subsidies to cover insurance premiums for low income people who are not eligible for Medicaid
B) It mandates that everyone have health insurance
C) It gets ride of many abuses by the private health insurance companies
D) All of the above

Question 16

The House of Representatives voted in 2011 and 2012 to abolish Medicare and substitute for it

A) Government nationalized health insurance for everyone
B) A program only available to the elderly who have low incomes
C) A flat sum of money to everyone over 65 to be used to purchase private health insurance.
D) A system where your last health insurance policy before you retired is continued with the same premiums.

Question 17

The supporters of Medicare for all-a single payer system of health insurance where the government is the single-payer argue that

A) A government program would always be more efficient than a private sector program
B) A single payer can bargain with suppliers for lower prices
C) Private insurance companies are all corrupt and government isn't
D) All of the above

Question 18

The supporters of Medicare for all-a single payer system of health insurance where the government is the single-payer argue that such a program will increase employment in the country because

A) The reduced cost of providing medical care will reduce the costs to business of providing health insurance to their employees.
B) The reduced cost to business would not reduce the take-home pay of employees.
C) Take home pay would increase if the reduced cost of private health insurance premiums were greater than the increase in taxes to pay for Medicare for all.
D) All of the above.

Question 19

The United States education system consists of

A) Only public institutions financed by taxes
B) Only private institutions financed by tuition and fees
C) Public institutions for Kindergarten through High School and private universities and colleges
D) Public and private schools at all levels.

Question 20

"Educational expenditures are investments."

Question 21

"The only educational expenditures that are investments are the construction of buildings and purchases of equipment."

Question 22

The book gives examples of useful government provided services. These examples include all but

A) Fire fighting
B) Police Departments
C) The Federal Aviation Administration
D) The Federal Bureau of Prisons

Question 23

The book gives examples of useful government provided services. These examples include all but

A) K-12 education
B) Public Higher education
C) The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
D) The Federal Reserve System

Question 24

Between April of 2009 and June of 2012, the public sector lost how many jobs.

A) 506,000
B) 606,000
C) 706,000
D) 806,000

Question 25

During the Great Depression, what government business was created to deliver power to underserved communities.

A) The Tennessee Valley Authority
B) The Missouri Valley Authority
C) The Mississippi Valley Autority
D) The Army Corps of Engineers

Question 26

All of the following examples are infrastructure spending except for

A) Building bridges
B) Building Airports
C) Building Roads
D) Building Office Towers

Question 27

As of 2011, how many unemployed construction workers were there?

A) 7.1 million
B) 6.1 million
C) 5.1 million
D) 4.1 million

Question 28

Between 2007 and 2011, the unemployment rate for construction workers went from ____% to ____%.

A) 4.4% to 15%
B) 5.4% to 16%
C) 6.4% to 18%
D) 7.4% to 20%

Question 29

The following are all arguments against a full employment act except

A) It is impossible to find jobs for those whose unemployment is considered frictional.
B) Even with 2% unemployment there will be accelerated inflation because that rate is too low
C) There isn't enough useful work for the entire population to be engaged in
D) Using government to guarantee jobs will increase deficit spending

Question 30

When President Eisenhower warned about the "military industrial complex" what was he referring to?

A) The fact that many veterans need psychiatric care after their service.
B) The joining of the army, navy, air force and marines into the Joint Chiefs of Staff under a single Department of Defense
C) The co-existence of a permanent arms industry with a large number of individuals in our nation's military services.
D) The co-existence of a Department of Defense and Department of Commerce in the cabinet.

Question 31

According to the book, problems of maintaining full employment can be achieved by expanding government in the following four areas:

A) Universal public health insurance, nationalizing all the banks, public infrastructure investment, expanding the military
B) Universal public health insurance, public energy investment, public infrastructure investment, expanding the military
C) Universal public health insurance, public energy investment, public infrastructure investment, universal public education.
D) Universal public health insurance, nationalizing all the banks, public infrastructure investment, universal public education.

Question 32

Well off individuals and corporations influence government policies by all of the following methods, except:

A) Donating money to political action committees to spend on elections
B) Donating money to conduct saturation advertising campaigns in the media to oppose reforms that might reduce profitability
C) Donating money to labor unions
D) Money to lobbyists