Deck 14: The Family, the State, and Social Policy

Question 1

A fundamental premise of the original Social Security System was that the recipients

A)would also be receiving other forms of assistance.
B)would never really need it.
C)would be primarily women.
D)would be primarily men.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

___________ advocates maintain that the rise of the dual-earner couple has created a harried lifestyle that should be eased for the sake of parents and children.

A)Conservative
B)Liberal
C)Democratic
D)Independent

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Since the mid-twentieth century, all the following reasons have made it possible for women to live full lives outside of marriage except

A)gains in the labor market.
B)a cultural shift away from the nuclear family.
C)the birth control pill.
D)diminishing economic fortunes of men without college educations.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following statements is true about the liberals' viewpoint on family policies?

A)They strongly discourage same-sex marriage.
B)They believe that economic change is responsible for the transformation of family life.
C)They are in support of the constitutional amendment banning abortion.
D)They are in favor of restrictive state laws and support.

Question 5

Which of the following statements is true about the Social Security Act of 1935?

A)It included a system of pensions for the elderly.
B)It was primarily designed with female recipients in mind.
C)It was established to oppose the breadwinner-homemaker family system in the United States.
D)It was initially designed to provide unemployment benefits to women who lost their jobs.

Question 6

The family wage system was based on the concept that women's and men's roles in the family split between

A)wage earners and homemakers.
B)young teenagers and mature mothers.
C)widowed mothers and divorcees.
D)homemakers and breadwinners.

Question 7

Until the depression in the United States, the government felt that it __________ (in) family affairs.

A)should not intervene
B)be completely responsible for
C)should provide moderate assistance
D)support certain aspects of

Question 8

_____ American families, including middle-class families, receive ________ government assistance.

A)Most; little
B)Some; little
C)Most; substantial
D)Some; substantial

Question 9

Most government involvement in family support is based on a concern about

A)votes.
B)keeping employees happy (and working).
C)dependents, especially children and the elderly.
D)distributing excess monies fairly.

Question 10

Those in the government who oppose partial-birth abortion are most likely

A)conservatives.
B)social liberals.
C)democrats.
D)independents.

Question 11

A conservative politician would disagree with which of the following statements?

A)The family should be left alone by the government.
B)The labor market should reflect the family wage system.
C)There should be legalization of partial-birth abortion.
D)A conservative would agree with all these statements.

Question 12

Families living in shallow poverty are

A)less likely to include anyone who is working steadily than those living in deep poverty.
B)most likely to have family incomes that fall between 50 percent and 100 percent of the federal poverty line.
C)most likely to have family incomes that are less than 10 percent of the federal poverty line.
D)less likely to receive general benefits from the government than those living in deep poverty.

Question 13

According to Cherlin, the debate over marriage promotion includes all of the following except

A)the authority of men.
B)the wisdom of imposing a particular moral view of family life on those with other lifestyles.
C)keeping the family wage system working.
D)the autonomy of women.

Question 14

Which of the following statements is true about the conservatives' viewpoint on family policies?

A)They encourage heterosexual, marriage-based families.
B)They believe that economic changes cause an erosion of norms and values in family life.
C)They are in favor of partial-birth abortion.
D)They oppose all government interventions into family life.

Question 15

The program of financial assistance to low-income, single-parent families that has become commonly known as "welfare" has been modified from

A)the Job Training Program (JTP) to Medicaid.
B)Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
C)the Work Incentive Program (WIN) to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
D)Social Security Supplemental Income (SSI) to Medicaid.

Question 16

Families living in deep poverty are most likely to

A)have family incomes that are less than 50 percent of the federal poverty line.
B)have family incomes that fall between 70 percent and 80 percent of the federal poverty line.
C)include anyone who is working steadily unlike families living in shallow poverty.
D)receive more generous benefits from the government than those received by families living in shallow poverty.

Question 17

Which of the following families traditionally has the highest poverty rates?

A)Hispanic families
B)White families
C)African American families
D)Asian American families

Question 18

Those considered to be the most undeserving poor in our country are

A)unwed mothers.
B)children.
C)unemployed, able-bodied men.
D)widows.

Question 19

The 1973 Supreme Court decision in the case of _______ ruled that women had the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy by abortion.

A)Roe v.Wade
B)Brown v.Wade
C)Schafly v.Schroeder
D)Roe v.Schroeder

Question 20

The major drop in TANF in caseloads the last few years has not been caused by

A)new rules of welfare reform.
B)the strong economy.
C)wage support such as the Earned Income Tax Credit.
D)fewer single-parent families.

Question 21

What factors contribute to the fact that white Americans identify U.S. antipoverty policies with African Americans?

Question 22

The government today is far more involved in supporting families than it was in earlier times.

Question 23

Conservative groups have long advocated government intervention when court ruling and legislation have undermined their vision of the family.

Question 24

For purposes of discussion on this question, take a stand as either a social conservative or social liberal in the U.S. Congress, and discuss what policies you would support (or oppose) for child care for working parents.

Question 25

Liberals tend to help married couples in which the wife works outside the home.

Question 26

How, in the minds of Americans, do the deserving poor differ from the nondeserving poor?

Question 27

The family wage system has historically been a reality for most segments of U.S. society.

Question 28

In terms of feminist theory, the development of the welfare state has been "gendered."

Question 29

The use of the family wage system is increasing at a rapid pace in the United States.

Question 30

As U.S. liberals and conservatives move toward compromise on issues relating to family policy, the liberals have accepted that unconditional benefits have not worked. What has been the conservatives' compromise?

Question 31

Conservatives differ from liberals in that conservatives

A)want a much broader and more costly set of supports to be provided to employed parents.
B)are against tax credits that would assist all families with at least one worker.
C)argue that the government should encourage low-income men and women to marry in order to ease hardships of poverty.
D)contend that government programs should focus on encouraging nonmarital births and same-sex marriages.

Question 32

The Social Security Act of 1935 followed the division of labor implicit in the family wage system.

Question 33

The Earned Income Tax Credit is only for families in which both parents are working.

Question 34

How does the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) reinforce the obligation to work?

Question 35

African American, single-parent families are heavily overrepresented among the persistently poor in the United States.

Question 36

Capitalism is an economic system in which goods and services are produced and sold by the state at subsidized rates.

Question 37

How did the Social Security Act of 1935 ignore the value of care work?

Question 38

On what major basic issue does the liberal viewpoint on family differ from the conservative viewpoint?

Question 39

Most middle-class families in the United States receive substantial government assistance.

Question 40

What have been the effects of the welfare reform of 1996?

Question 41

Discuss some of the trends in the family policy debates of the 1970s, 80s, 90s and 2000s. What are the similarities and the differences?

Question 42

How has the development of the welfare state been "gendered"?

Question 43

What is the rationale behind the marriage promotion activities led by the Republican-controlled Congress?

Question 44

What are the current views on same-sex marriage discussed in this chapter?

Question 45

Elaborate on why the "welfare reform" of 1996 has been so important for the evolution of conservative and liberal views of family policy.

Question 46

What do you see in the future of the American welfare state?