Deck 15: Addressing Inequality and Poverty: Programs and Reforms

Question 1

In terms of pretax income gained only from the market, the poorest 20 percent of the population receive _________ percent of all income while the top 20 percent receive ___________ percent of all income.

A) 5.5/85
B) 1.5/54
C) 10.5/69
D) 20/80

Answer 1

1.5/54

Question 2

Which of the following is a true statement?

A) Most of the benefits from tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 went to the wealthiest two percent.
B) Between 1998 and 2005, about two-thirds of U.S. corporations paid no federal income taxes at all.
C) The IRS recently estimated that about $70 billion in taxes were lost in 2001 because of offshore accounts.
D) All of the above.

Answer 2

All of the above.

Question 3

Evidence suggests that affirmative action programs have:

A) not increased pressures for academic performance or dropout rates among minorities at top-ranked
Universities and colleges though they did negatively affect grades for minorities
B) unduly harmed white workers
C) not been successful
D) resulted in the hiring of many unqualified individuals

Answer 3

not increased pressures for academic performance or dropout rates among minorities at top-ranked
Universities and colleges though they did negatively affect grades for minorities

Question 4

U.S. policies and programs have historically been based more on:

A) societal economic and political conditions that create poverty
B) individual flaws and value and lifestyle deficiencies of the poor
C) stresses in the living situation of the poor
D) none of the above

Question 5

Before the Civil War, which of the following factors did NOT contribute to poverty?

A) crop failures
B) growing population
C) increase in low-wage labor
D) none of the above

Question 6

Poorhouses in the 19th-century U.S.:

A) were effective in eliminating poverty among adolescents
B) aimed at warehousing the poor with no attempt to rehabilitate them
C) theoretically stressed the importance of work, education, and discipline
D) managed to successfully balance the goals of order, low cost, and reform

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT basic to the ideal image of the rugged individual?

A) Physical and psychological independence.
B) Not just anyone can overcome difficult obstacles; it takes more than hard work to succeed.
C) Those who do not succeed are lazy and immoral.
D) The possibility of material gain is needed to motivate people.

Question 8

The religious doctrine of Calvinism posits that:

A) philanthropy is crucial to a meaningful life
B) idleness is not only a sin but a social evil as well
C) structural issues cause people to become poor
D) poor people are among God's elect

Question 9

Traditionally, images of the poor in the U.S.:

A) have focused on them as victims of circumstances
B) has viewed them as luckless individuals deserving of help
C) has seen them as victims of conscious exploitation by others
D) have focused on their alleged weaknesses in character and personality

Question 10

To place the reason for economic success or failure on the individual is to:

A) implicate society and its institutions for creating poverty
B) integrate the poor with others to create a more communal society
C) create stereotypes and negative images of the poor
D) none of the above

Question 11

Which group makes up the majority of those who are poor and on welfare in the U.S.?

A) Blacks
B) non-Hispanic Whites
C) Hispanics
D) Asians

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT a true statement regarding the poor?

A) A majority of the poor are old, children, or disabled.
B) The poor have a significantly greater number of children than the non-poor.
C) The poor spend most of their incomes on basic needs.
D) The vast majority of unmarried mothers on welfare have only one child.

Question 13

In the "residual" view:

A) social welfare aid should be given to the poor only as a last resort
B) social welfare expenditures and programs are positive and people should not be stigmatized because of their need for help
C) benefits should be high so as to provide the poor with greater opportunities
D) poverty is largely beyond the control of most poor

Question 14

From the "institutional" perspective:

A) poverty is a character flaw or deficiency
B) people should not expect help from the government without a stigma being attached to it
C) social welfare programs play a vital role in dealing with many of the problems generated by society
D) social welfare programs are a means of controlling the working class and the poor

Question 15

Which of the following is an example of a social insurance program?

A) Medicaid
B) Food Stamps
C) Medicare
D) Supplemental Security Income

Question 16

Which of the following is by far the most expensive income-maintenance program?

A) Medicare
B) Social Security
C) Medicaid
D) Temporary Assistance to Needy Families

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT part of Social Security?

A) Medicare
B) unemployment and disability insurance
C) retirement benefits
D) federal student loans

Question 18

The major source of health care for qualified poor people is:

A) Medicare
B) Medicaid
C) church-supported clinics
D) Aid to Families with Dependent Children

Question 19

Evidence suggests that:

A) welfare is a major cause of divorce and family disintegration
B) welfare benefits encourage families to have illegitimate children
C) benefit levels are not a major factor in the breakup of families or illegitimacy rates
D) states with higher welfare benefits consistently have higher percentages of female-headed
Households

Question 20

Analyses of the welfare population reveal that:

A) it typically becomes a permanent way of life that persists for generations
B) most who receive financial aid could take care of themselves without such assistance
C) only about 15 percent are constantly on welfare
D) none of the above

Question 21

"The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996":

A) limits aid to 10 years over a person's lifetime
B) raises spending on Food Stamps over a six-year period
C) requires that able-bodied adults work after two years of aid or lose benefits
D) allows future legal immigrants to receive benefits in their first five years

Question 22

Since the 1996 welfare reform:

A) the child poverty rate has increased
B) fewer women on welfare have entered the labor force
C) the number of welfare recipients has fallen significantly
D) pregnancy rates among unwed teenagers have increased

Question 23

Since the 1996 welfare reform:

A) most women formerly on welfare have good jobs working consistently 40 hours per week
B) economic conditions among rural mothers have gotten better
C) almost all of the women who are now working earn incomes that are significantly higher than the incomes they had while on welfare
D) none of the above

Question 24

When it comes to the inequity of poverty programs:

A) children are more likely than those over 65 to be lifted out of poverty by programs
B) granting states greater control over welfare policy will undoubtedly reduce inequity
C) programs generally have not provided adequate child care provisions for poor women
D) traditionally, males heads of families were more likely to receive assistance than female heads

Question 25

Some argue that having an "undeserving" poor population serves many functions for the rest of us such as:

A) helping us feel inferior
B) creating jobs in the helping professions (i.e. social work)
C) providing a skilled labor pool
D) none of the above

Question 26

U.S. governmental policies have been more concerned with addressing social inequality in society than the poverty of individuals.

Question 27

A study of 17 countries revealed that U.S. programs were most effective in using taxes and transfers to reduce poverty among the poor.

Question 28

Recent changes in estate tax laws allow individuals to pass on more of their wealth (up to $1 million) without being taxed on it.

Question 29

Those with incomes above $100,000 are much more likely than the working poor to be audited by the IRS.

Question 30

Preferential affirmative action programs also exist at universities for athletes and children of alumni.

Question 31

In periods of general economic recession, controversy over affirmative action declines.

Question 32

Individualism as a value encourages the notion that the poor are in their situation because of weaknesses in character and/or ability.

Question 33

A clear distinction between the "deserving" and "undeserving" poor developed in the late fifteenth century.

Question 34

A recent poll suggested that U.S. adults are more likely to view Hispanics as more lazy than either Blacks or Asian Americans.

Question 35

A review of recent surveys finds that almost half of all adults feel that the poor have it easy and could get along without governmental support.

Question 36

The poor are the recipients of most of the governmental welfare benefits.

Question 37

The 1996 legislation raising the minimum wage to $5.15 per hour was able to raise a family of three out of poverty.

Question 38

Evidence suggests that many of the problems of the poor are due to their weak work ethic.

Question 39

Most Americans believe that the poor have become too dependent upon the government for help.

Question 40

Since the 1970s, the real value of public-assistance benefits has not kept pace with inflation.

Question 41

The majority of the income among poor two-parent families comes from welfare programs.

Question 42

Of those poor who did not work at all in the United States in 1991, more than half were either ill, disabled, retired, or going to school

Question 43

Medicare pays for all medical services including routine dental and long-term nursing home care.

Question 44

Public-assistance programs are seen as deserving based on the assumption that their beneficiaries have contributed both to the financial support of those programs and to the society through their years of employment.

Question 45

Social insurance programs often bring about questions of fraud, laziness, and deservedness.

Question 46

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a cash-benefit welfare program aimed at people who are in financial need, and who are either 65 years of age or older, blind, or disabled.

Question 47

About half of the participants in the food-stamp program are children.

Question 48

Medicaid serves at least 50 percent of the adults with AIDS and 90 percent of children with AIDS.

Question 49

Welfare is the most significant cause of the increase in female-headed households.

Question 50

Before restrictions were placed on the amount of time one could receive welfare, the majority of people stayed on welfare for most of their lives

Question 51

The 1996 welfare reform reduced poverty and gave people economic and job stability.

Question 52

William Julius Wilson has stressed that for any program to be fully accepted by the public, it must be seen as benefiting particular groups.

Question 53

Ackerman and Alstott (1999) suggest that every young adult should be granted a one-time stake of $80,000 to use as they wish to develop their futures

Question 54

Identify and discuss the major controversies relevant to defining poverty.

Question 55

Critically analyze the perceptions of the poor and the theories of poverty. In so doing, identify the myths surrounding the U.S. poor and provide evidence as to why they are myths.

Question 56

How have dominant social values and the perceptions of the non-poor about poor people affected the development and nature of
U.S. poverty programs?

Question 57

Is it possible to have significant economic inequality without poverty? How about the reverse: Is it possible to have poverty
without significant economic inequality? Justify your responses.

Question 58

What important functions do the poor serve in our society? Is it fair to say that our society has a vested interest in the perpetuation of poverty?

Question 59

Compare and contrast income-maintenance programs to public-assistance programs. How have these programs impacted social inequality?

Question 60

Discuss the controversy regarding the impact of the Welfare Reform Act of 1996.