Deck 7: Poverty and Social Welfare Policy

Question 1

States under TANF cannot

A) make recipients get married
B) contract with private businesses
C) deny assistance to unwed mothers under 18
D) divert funds from income support to other services

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The EITC is the largest federal mean-tested cash benefit program.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Income support programs have the goal of helping meet the basic needs of citizens for food, clothing, and income.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Which of the following are responsible for the "feminization of poverty"?

A) High divorce rates
B) Large number of single mother households
C) Lack of adequate childcare facilities
D) All of the above

Question 5

SNAP is NOT sensitive to changes in the economy.

Question 6

Those who feel that poverty is involuntary and related to lack of opportunity are people with ___________ views.

A) conservative
B) liberal
C) free market
D) radical

Question 7

_______________ of all SSI beneficiaries are disabled adults between 18-64 years of age.
A) one-third

A) over half
B) 25 percent
C) the vast majority
D) ten percent

Question 8

According to Conservatives __________ is NOT one of the causes of poverty

A) Lack of self-discipline to work hard
B) Lack of saving
C) Immediate gratification
D) Lack of opportunity for education

Question 9

How is poverty defined in the United States difference from other developed nations?

A) The number of assistance application versus income of population
B) By abstract measure versus relative measure
C) economic need versus minimal level of income
D) none of the above

Question 10

The official government measure of poverty has been criticized because___________

A) it does not take into account regional variations in the cost of living
B) the change in actual cost of food and other items are not taken into account
C) the multiplier is artificially low
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 11

Job training programs do NOT provide

A) help for non-workers to attain marketable skills
B) college scholarships
C) retraining of dislocated workers
D) funding for training of welfare recipients

Question 12

The poverty rate is the highest among

A) Whites
B) African-Americans
C) Hispanics
D) Chinese

Question 13

SNAP's distribution of loaded debit cards indicates an assumption about recipients

A) fear of their checks getting lost in the mail
B) a distrust of their spending habits
C) lack of banks in their neighbor hoods
D) they prefer using plastic

Question 14

The distribution of income in the United States has gradually become more equal since the end of World War II.

Question 15

Relative definitions of poverty do not specify a particular level of material well-being, but compare the poor to other members of society.

Question 16

Conservatives view poverty as stemming from:

A) absence of opportunities in the free-enterprise system.
B) the lack of educational opportunities in the United States.
C) largely voluntary choices made by individuals
D) no available work training programs.

Question 17

Which of the following statements is NOT a criticism of the SSA definition of poverty?

A) Its multiplier is artificially low.
B) It does not count in-kind benefits as income.
C) It does not take account of inflation.
D) all of the above

Question 18

The majority of all adults currently living below the poverty line:

A) are lazy and dependent upon the welfare system
B) live in single, male-headed households
C) work full- or part-time
D) are unemployable because of their substance addictions

Question 19

Which is NOT true about Social Security Administration?

A) It provides survivors benefits
B) Health insurance under Medicare is provided
C) It is a retirement program only
D) It provides disability insurance

Question 20

The official SSA poverty definition results in what approximate poverty percentage of the population in the early 2000s?

A) 6%
B) 9%
C) 13%
D) 16%
E) 25%

Question 21

The term "feminization of poverty" refers to

A) the large number of single females on welfare
B) the concentration of poverty among families headed by women
C) the increasing number of women concerned about alleviating poverty
D) none of the above
E) both (a) and (c)

Question 22

Racial discrimination against minorities and sex discrimination against women are not important cause of poverty according to liberal theory.

Question 23

Republicans in Congress supported a TANF re-authorization with which of the following features?

A) reduced work requirements
B) reducing dependency
C) elimination of grants to help states foster marriage
D) all of the above

Question 24

Government spending on children has become less effective against poverty in recent years, when compared with spending on the elderly.

Question 25

Liberals and progressives claim that external forces in our economy are the main cause of poverty

Question 26

After 1973, poverty was much more directly responsive to changes in the macro-economy than it was before.

Question 27

During the last 20 years, the gap between the richest 5% of the population and the poorest 20%

A) widened
B) narrowed
C) remained the same
D) widened, then narrowed

Question 28

Liberals emphasize that opportunities offered to the poor must be real. Programs must

A) Provide salable skills
B) connect to higher rungs in the labor market
C) support career advancement
D) provide temporary menial work

Question 29

An absolute definition of poverty is concerned with meeting the essential needs of the individual.

Question 30

Conservatives argue that traditional government welfare programs prevent and cure poverty.

Question 31

The tax revenue foregone by having the home mortgage interest tax deduction is seven times the size of the federal TANF block grants to the States.

Question 32

Expenditures for federal employment programs have:

A) risen
B) declined
C) stayed constant

Question 33

Family income for Texas TANF eligibility is below 20% of the official U.S. poverty level.

Question 34

A definition of poverty that requires determining a minimum level of nutrition, shelter, clothing and health is known as

A) an absolute definition
B) a relative definition
C) a psychological definition
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 35

Providing poor quality childcare to non-working parents former TANF mothers may lead to them having

A) addiction
B) poor education
C) higher rates of crime
D) higher rates of unemployment

Question 36

The Earned Income Tax Credit moves the largest proportion of working Americans above the poverty line.

Question 37

The majority of persons below the poverty line are:

A) Black
B) Hispanic
C) White
D) Native American

Question 38

"There must be a poverty class in order to encourage the upper class and middle class to strive harder" is a view held by

A) Conservatives
B) Radicals
C) Liberals
D) Independents

Question 39

The American welfare state is much more extensive than those in Western Europe.

Question 40

Enrollment in TANF since the beginning of the program in 1997 has:

A) declined sharply
B) declined slightly
C) remained the same
D) increased slightly
E) increased sharply

Question 41

Darwin's idea of survival of the fittest and that poverty was caused by individual weakness became a widespread idea in 19^th Century America.

Question 42

According to radicals, capitalism necessitate poverty because poverty is necessary in a capitalist society

A) Keeps wages low
B) Because of the class system
C) provides large pool of surplus labor to menial and dirty task
D) (a) and (c) only

Question 43

Public Assistance programs include which of the following?

A) Social Security
B) Unemployment Insurance
C) TANF
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 44

Which of the following is NOT a primary feature of the new welfare program (PRWORA) enacted in 1996?

A) Block grant
B) Five year time limit
C) Every single mother is eligible to receive benefits
D) Welfare-to-work emphasis

Question 45

Which of the following were goals of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act?

A) encourage work
B) reduce unwanted pregnancy
C) save $54 billion in federal dollars
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 46

An example of a current public assistance program is

A) CETA
B) Social Security
C) TANF
D) OASDI

Question 47

During the American Revolution, there was rise in poverty due a variety of sources, Except FOR

A) Immigration
B) Successful trading with England
C) Creation of widows and orphans due to military skirmishes
D) Illness and plagues
E) Growing overcrowding in cities

Question 48

They believe government programs encourage families to breakup or not to form by increasing benefits for additional children

A) Religious right
B) Conservatives and neo-cons
C) Libertarians
D) Liberals and progressives

Question 49

19^th Century America adopted market based economics and laissez-faire philosophy from what country?

A) Spain
B) Germany
C) Portugal
D) England

Question 50

Which of the following is NOT an achievement of public assistance programs?

A) Most people are dependent on public assistance for many years
B) Public assistance has done much to alleviate the effects of poverty
C) Fraud in public assistance programs is minimal
D) Taken together, public assistance programs build a financial foundation under the poor

Question 51

Conservatives stress which of the following as problems in traditional public assistance programs?

A) too generous benefits
B) insufficient work incentives
C) long-term dependency
D) all of the above

Question 52

"Income Support" includes which of the following forms of government financial help for individuals?

A) Social Security
B) TANF
C) unemployment insurance
D) SSI
E) all of the above

Question 53

The settlement house movement of the early 1900s spawned which of these organizations?

A) The National Red Cross
B) NAACP and National Urban League
C) Hull House and Henry Street settlement houses
D) Suffragettes

Question 54

Which of the following programs is NOT means-tested?

A) Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
B) Supplemental Security Income
C) Social Security
D) Medicaid
E) Food Stamps

Question 55

Which of the following was not included in the 1601 Poor Law?

A) allowed harsh treatment of able-bodied poor if they refuse to work
B) made the churches responsible for providing care
C) set up children with apprenticeships
D) provided care for the dependent poor

Question 56

Liberals stress which of the following as problems in public assistance programs?

A) the plight of American children
B) inadequate benefits
C) punitive measures
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 57

The 1601 Poor Law was based on which two ideas?

A) The poor needed to take responsibility for their situation
B) some poor people were deserving of help and others were not
C) poverty is rooted in economic problems, not individual failings
D) A and B
E) B and C

Question 58

Which in-kind public assistance program helps the largest number of persons?

A) housing vouchers
B) food stamps
C) Women's, Infants, & Children program
D) home weatherization

Question 59

Which of the following are provisions of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act?

A) Reductions in federal child care spending.
B) Limits on life-time welfare assistance to five years.
C) Requires able-bodied adults to work after two years on public assistance.
D) all of the above
E) (b) and (c) only.

Question 60

Radicals argue that welfare for the rich is distributed

A) through hidden tax loopholes
B) special favors from Congress
C) Investment credits
D) loans and loan guarantees

Question 61

The expansion of the welfare state was due to several factors

A) liberalization of Aid to family with Dependent Children
B) establishment of Food Stamp Program
C) Establishment of Social Security Income
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 62

Which federal Act set the stage for future relationships between the federal government and States in the provision of social welfare policy?

A) Mothers pension laws
B) Sheppard-Towne Act of 1918
C) Social Security Act of 1935
D) None of the above

Question 63

The "underclass" refers to

A) Blacks and Hispanics
B) a large portion of welfare recipients
C) people dependent upon public assistance and living in neighborhoods with high concentrations of poverty and social decay
D) the criminal element in society
E) none of the above

Question 64

The difference in an approach to social welfare between the United States and Western Europe is that

A) guarantee a generous minimum standards of living
B) social service is a political right, not a charity
C) social service is available to all or most citizens
D) all of the above

Question 65

The "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act" included which of the following provisions?

A) elimination of "charitable choice"
B) restoration of food stamp cuts
C) reductions in child care support
D) continued transitional Medicaid for one year
E) all of the above

Question 66

Other countries that use means testing to define poverty include

A) Sweden
B) France
C) The Netherlands
D) all of the above

Question 67

The ____________ has authority over most housing programs in the United States.

A) Department of Housing and Urban Development
B) Social Security Administration
C) Medicare
D) Department of the Interior

Question 68

Civic conservatism is the idea that social rights should be secured by meeting some social obligation such as working.

Question 69

What is NOT an example of income support?

A) Subsidies to farmers
B) Government grants
C) Loan guarantees
D) Sole source contracting

Question 70

Arguments against privatization of Social Security include:

A) It carries the risk of poor management
B) It has high transition costs
C) It would make worse the "two class" system among the elderly
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 71

During the Great Society, the federal government for the first time undertook a broad range of subsidies for both public and higher education with benefits aimed at the disadvantaged

Question 72

The Great Society initiated major new social insurance programs

Question 73

Rates of participation among those eligible for public assistance programs are higher in the United States than Europe.

Question 74

Horizontal inequities refer to the fact that welfare programs have substantial work disincentives.

Question 75

The modern State supports the income standards of living of the wealthy and middle class even more than it does the poor.

Question 76

Which is NOT a feature of Social Insurance?

A) universal, work based
B) means-tested
C) contributory to trust fund
D) often indexed to inflation

Question 77

Which of the following is NOT true?

A) an increasing proportion of the homeless are mentally disturbed
B) the long-term homeless are predominantly male
C) more federal housing benefits go to the upper class than to the lower middle class

Question 78

Conservatives are opposed to big government and are concerned for the permissiveness of compelled work.

Question 79

____________ of those eligible for federal housing assistance actually receive it.

A) 4/5
B) 2/3
C) 2/4
D) 1/3
E) 1/4

Question 80

The Social Security tax is regressive.