Deck 6: Poverty

Question 1

One way to deal with low-paying jobs is to _____ the workers.

Answer 1

unionize

Question 2

It was not until _____ that the public began to identify poverty as one of America's serious problems.

Answer 2

1965

Question 3

An influential factor in creating an awareness of the problem of poverty was a book entitled _____.

Answer 3

The Other America

Question 4

A state in which income is insufficient to provide the basic necessities of food, shelter, clothing, and medical care is called _____.

Question 5

When poverty is so severe that it is life-threatening, it is called _____.

Question 6

_____ means that the insufficiency to provide basic necessities such as food, shelter, medical care, and clothing is substantially greater than that of most others in the society.

Question 7

A measure of the average change in prices of all types of consumer goods and services purchased by urban wage earners and clerical workers is called the _____.

Question 8

The _____ changes the proportion of the poor in various groups (such as age groups, racial/ethnic groups), raising the rates in some groups and lowering them in others.

Question 9

The _____ defines "near" poverty as between 100 and 125 percent of the poverty threshold.

Question 10

During the 1960s and 1970s, the amount of poverty in the United States _____.

Question 11

If we look at absolute numbers instead of rates, the racial/ethnic group with the largest number of poor is _____.

Question 12

_____ has the highest rate of poverty for children of the industrial countries of the world.

Question 13

The _____ are mostly likely to die at a younger age.

Question 14

According to your text, it is the _____ that benefits the most from government programs.

Question 15

Among age groups, the highest rate of poverty in the United States by far is among those people who are _____.

Question 16

The ability or opportunity to govern oneself is called _____.

Question 17

The arbitrary, unfavorable treatment of the members of some social group is called _____.

Question 18

The _____ is defined as a belief that has consequences (and may become true) simply because it is believed.

Question 19

It was not until _____ that the public began to identify poverty as one of America's serious problems.

A) 1941
B) 1950
C) 1965
D) 1984

Question 20

An influential factor in creating an awareness of the problem of poverty was a book entitled _____.

A) The Cost of Poverty
B) The Other America
C) If You Saw What I Saw
D) The Price of Poverty

Question 21

A state in which income is insufficient to provide the basic necessities of food, shelter, clothing, and medical care is called _____.

A) poverty
B) poorness
C) lower class
D) deadbeat

Question 22

When poverty is so severe that it is life-threatening, it is called _____.

A) relative poverty
B) lower class poverty
C) poor poverty
D) absolute poverty

Question 23

Which of the following terms means that the insufficiency to provide basic necessities such as food, shelter, medical care, and clothing is substantially greater than that of most others in the society?

A) relative poverty
B) destitution
C) penury
D) absolute poverty

Question 24

The _____ is defined as the minimum income amount that Americans should have to live on, based on the Department of Agriculture's calculations of the cost of a basic diet called "the economy food plan."

A) consumer price index
B) poverty level
C) international poverty line
D) standard of living

Question 25

A measure of the average change in prices of all types of consumer goods and services purchased by urban wage earners and clerical workers is called the _____.

A) consumer price index
B) U.S. economic status
C) level of poverty
D) index of expenses

Question 26

During the 1960s and 1970s, the amount of poverty in the United States _____.

A) increased
B) decreased
C) remained the same
D) increased in the north but decreased in the south

Question 27

Which of the following families has the greatest chance of being poor?

A) married white father and mother
B) married black father and mother
C) single white mother
D) single black mother

Question 28

Among the racial/ethnic minorities for whom the Census Bureau regularly collects and publishes data, _____ have the highest poverty rate.

A) African Americans
B) non-Hispanic whites
C) Asian Americans
D) Hispanics

Question 29

In terms of absolute number rather than rates, the racial/ethnic group in the United States with the largest number of poor is _____.

A) African Americans
B) non-Hispanic whites
C) Asian Americans
D) Hispanics

Question 30

Which of the following industrial countries of the world has the highest rate of poverty for children?

A) England
B) Spain
C) Germany
D) the United States

Question 31

An area in which a certain group is segregated from the rest of society, often used today to refer to the impoverished area of the inner city, is called a _____.

A) suburb
B) development
C) ghetto
D) "Gold Coast"

Question 32

Who is most likely to die at a young age?

A) the poor
B) the lower middle class
C) the middle class
D) the upper class

Question 33

Inadequate food, in amount or type, is known as _____.

A) subsidy
B) homelessness
C) poverty
D) malnutrition

Question 34

Which of the following statements is true of the quality of life of the poor when compared to the nonpoor?

A) They are more likely to get chronic illnesses.
B) They are less likely to lose their jobs and to drop out of the labor force.
C) They are more likely to participate in meaningful groups and associations.
D) They are less likely to become mentally ill.

Question 35

Which of the following nations has the highest gross national product (GNP) per capita?

A) United States
B) Japan
C) United Kingdom
D) Switzerland

Question 36

Which social class is most likely to be a victim of a crime?

A) the upper class
B) the middle class
C) the lower middle class
D) the poor class

Question 37

According to your text, it is the _____ that benefit(s) the most from government programs.

A) homeless
B) lower class
C) middle and upper classes
D) none of these answers is correct

Question 38

A government grant to a private person or company to assist an enterprise deemed advantageous to the public is called _____.

A) welfare reform
B) a handout
C) a subsidy
D) a freeloader

Question 39

Government benefits given to corporations that are unavailable to other groups or to individuals are sometimes called _____.

A) corporate welfare
B) fleecing the rich
C) rich-man gifts
D) golden contracts

Question 40

In general, the _____, the lower the educational achievement of the child.

A) higher the income
B) lower the income
C) higher the class
D) taller the child

Question 41

The arbitrary, unfavorable treatment of the members of some social group is called _____.

A) favoritism
B) discrimination
C) affirmative action
D) classism

Question 42

To what extent do official figures accurately indicate the number of poor in America?

A) Official figures minimize the number of poor in America.
B) Official figures tend to overestimate the number of poor in America.
C) Official figures are an accurate indication of the number of poor in America.
D) Since data on personal income may be inaccurate, the accuracy of official figures on poverty is impossible to assess.

Question 43

Among social groups, wealth and poverty are distributed _____.

A) systematically
B) unevenly
C) equally
D) fairly

Question 44

The "underclass" are those who _____.

A) have chronic hunger and malnutrition
B) are unemployed
C) have substandard housing
D) all of these answers are correct

Question 45

Ways of living that enable people to adapt to their punishing, depriving reality are called _____.

A) affective strategies
B) adaptive strategies
C) survival strategies
D) social strategies

Question 46

Rainwater's concept of the "expressive strategy" involves _____.

A) apathy
B) crime
C) the manipulation of others
D) isolation and withdrawal

Question 47

According to Rainwater, which of the following is true of the violent strategy of survival?

A) It involves actions such as fighting, shoplifting, or making threats.
B) It involves manipulating others and making oneself appealing through various means.
C) It involves actions such as gaining the affection of a female, wearing dramatic clothes, or winning a gambling bet.
D) It involves incorporation of a safe strategy, and all the poor adopt it.

Question 48

According to Rainwater, which of the following is true of the depressive strategy of survival?

A) It involves incorporation of a safe strategy, and all the poor adopt it.
B) It involves manipulating others and making oneself appealing through various means.
C) It involves withdrawal and isolation and characterizes a great number of the poor as they grow older.
D) It involves actions such as gaining the affection of a female, wearing dramatic clothes, or winning a gambling bet.

Question 49

The text points out that the view of the poor as "lazy" _____.

A) is still prevalent
B) is unsupported by evidence
C) robs the poor of human dignity
D) all of these answers are correct

Question 50

The opportunity to control one's own destiny is called _____.

A) achievement
B) autonomy
C) authoritarianism
D) affiliation

Question 51

Which of the following statements is true of the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) policy?

A) The policy includes unlimited help and no work requirements.
B) The federal government sets the exact requirements for distributing help to poor families.
C) The policy requires single mothers to find work and become self-supporting.
D) The federal government provides long-term aid to the poor.

Question 52

Wealth and poverty are distributed equally among various social groups.

Question 53

Single-parent families headed by mothers are the most impoverished group in the nation.

Question 54

If you are white, you are less likely to be poor than if you are nonwhite; if you are poor, you are more likely to be white than nonwhite.

Question 55

The rate of poverty is higher in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.

Question 56

The poor are lazy and just unwilling to work.

Question 57

The poor live under such circumstances as to cause higher rates of mental and physical illness.

Question 58

Compared to infants of the nonpoor, infants of the poor are more likely to die.

Question 59

There is a very long-term dependency among welfare recipients.

Question 60

Most of tax money spent by the federal government goes to poor people.

Question 61

One of the most important values of Americans is autonomy and equal opportunity.

Question 62

The belief that the poor are far more likely to be victims of violent crimes is a myth.

Question 63

Among social groups, wealth and poverty are distributed unequally.

Question 64

Among age groups, the highest rate of poverty in the United States by far is among those people who are under age 18.

Question 65

The text points out that the view of the poor as "lazy" is unsupported by evidence.

Question 66

In general, the lower the income, the lower the educational achievement of the child.