Deck 4: Intergovernmental Relations

Question 1

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A) In a unitary government, there are no state governments so direction, and accountability are clear.
B) In a federal government, a national government and regional governments share power.
C) In a confederation, power resides with sovereign state governments; an overarching government has some defined powers.
D) In a unitary government power is shared between the federal government and subnational governments.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Devolution is the transfer of power from a local authority to the federal government.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The "Williamsburg Resolve" issued by the Republican governors in 1994 called for

A) a return to a confederacy of separate states.
B) reversing the power that had been going to Washington since the New Deal.
C) block grants rather than categorical grants from the federal government.
D) additional federal dollars to assist states with a high number of welfare recipients.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The form of government enjoyed by the citizens of the United States is known as:

A) Unitary government
B) a commonwealth of sovereign states
C) a federal system
D) b and c

Question 5

Picket fence federalism is a useful metaphor that suggests that bureaucrats can be seen as the horizontal pickets of the fence, and hence they are:

A) In touch with all three levels of government-federal, state and local.
B) Have more operational knowledge than their bosses who are elected and come and go.
C) Neither a or b
D) A and b

Question 6

The process of the extradition of criminals from one state to another is an example of dual federalism.

Question 7

Which of the following questions concerning fiscal federalism is frequently raised during elections?

A) Why shouldn't local government pay for local services with its own tax dollars?
B) Why can't there be more block grants rather than categorical grants from the federal government?
C) Why can't the citizens of the states just keep their money rather than paying it to the federal government so they can return it in grants and services?
D) Why can't the federal government simply take over the costs of areas such as public transportation, road maintenance, and other functions that severely drain the resources of the local governments?

Question 8

In 1997 in the Prinz v. United States case, the Supreme Court opined that "it is uncontestable that the Constitution established a system of dual sovereignty."

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of creative federalism?

A) Head Start
B) War on Drugs
C) Great Society programs
D) The War on Poverty

Question 10

Morton Grodzins' marble cake metaphor suggests that the boundary lines between federal state and local governments are blurred and intermingled on programs, procedures and activities.

Question 11

The theory that government needs to spend money ("pump priming") during periods of economic decline was developed by:

A) Ronald Wilson Reagan
B) John Maynard Keynes
C) Harry Truman
D) Theodore Roosevelt.

Question 12

The "War on Poverty" was a policy and slogan used in:

A) The Franklin Roosevelt administration
B) Lyndon Johnson administration
C) The Ronald Reagan administration
D) None of the above.

Question 13

Cooperative federalism

A) emerged during the New Deal
B) is the notion that national, state, and local governments are cooperating.
C) both a and b
D) none of the above.

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of a federal system of government?

A) greater scope for diversity and experimentation in policy
B) a tendency toward policy incrementalism that is seen as integral to democracy
C) an ability to provide sufficient allowance for the needs of minorities
D) a clear national direction without negotiation or conflict with subnational states

Question 15

Creative federalism was the Great Society programs of the Johnson administration.

Question 16

Partisan gerrymandering, when the electoral system is arranged in such a way that will consistently degrade voters' influence on the political process as a whole was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Question 17

The National Academy of Public Administration's task force in 1999, identified a key issue in public administration in the 21^st century would be that governance in the U.S. and globally would undergo a fundamental transformation. This would include complexity in relationships between government and society, and a mix of national and international responsibilities.

Question 18

A grant-in-aid is the term used for federal to state payments to local governments for specified purposes and usually subject to supervision and review by the granting government or agency in accordance with prescribed standards and requirements.

Question 19

The greatest number of federal grants to states (almost half of them) is related to Medicaid.