Deck 7: Poverty and Social Welfare Policy

Question 1

The poverty line has been identified as three times the "thrifty food plan budget" since 1955.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The poverty rate is the highest among

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

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Conservatives argue that government welfare programs cannot cure poverty because

A)Encourages people to remain poor
B)Breaks up families
C)Cheating and fraud is rampant
D)All of the above
E)None of the above

Answer 3

D

Question 4

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 5

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 6

Which country has the largest income gap between the rich and the poor?

A)England
B)France
C)United States
D)Germany

Question 7

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 8

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 9

The "feminization of poverty" refers to

A)Women making less money than men for the same work
B)Single female-headed households
C)Women having less education than men
D)Women working in traditional female occupations

Question 10

The likelihood of being in poverty is NOT correlated with

A)Part time employment
B)College Degree
C)Being Elderly
D)Living in the south

Question 11

Using the relative poverty measure,which means being below one half of the national median income,more than 20 percent of the population has been in poverty over the past forty years.

Question 12

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 13

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 14

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

Question 15

"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 16

Disposal income is defined as

A)After taxes income
B)After work expense income
C)Lottery winnings
D)A & B only

Question 17

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 18

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 19

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 20

Liberals believe that external factors cause poverty rather than individual behavior.These factors include:

A)Racial discrimination
B)Lack of opportunities
C)Job training
D)low wage jobs
E)A,B and D F.All of the above

Question 21

The Great Society,which included the War on Poverty,initiated major social insurance programs

Question 22

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 23

Social Security was originally designed as a ________________ program.

A)Welfare
B)Health insurance
C)Educational
D)Retirement

Question 24

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 25

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 26

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 27

The Supplemental Security Income was established in 1972 to provide income security to these groups

A)Children and widows
B)Handicapped, illiterate and homeless
C)Aged, blind and disabled
D)Veterans and widows

Question 28

The settlement house movement spawned several institutions and services except for

A)National Urban League
B)The Girl Scouts
C)NAACP
D)Day care
E)Public Parks

Question 29

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 30

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 31

Social Security spending is rising rapidly for which of the following reasons?

A)more people over age 65
B)people are living longer
C)Social Security is not indexed to the cost of living
D)all of the above
E)(a) and (b) only

Question 32

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 33

The Reagan Welfare Policy changed welfare by

A)Cutting the budget
B)Imposing tougher work requirements
C)Limiting assistance to teen mothers
D)All of the above
E)None of the above

Question 34

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

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

Question 35

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 36

Which of the following is NOT a drawback to privatizing Social Security?

A)Possible poor financial management by private firms.
B)Possible higher returns based upon the historically successful outcomes of the stock market.
C)High transition costs
D)None of the above.

Question 37

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 38

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 39

The Poor Law codified several statutes into one law.It did NOT include

A)Requiring children to go the school
B)Care for the dependent poor
C)Putting able-bodied to work
D)Established civic responsibility

Question 40

Social Security is financed by a ___________

A)property tax
B)payroll tax
C)state tax
D)sales tax
E)none of the above

Question 41

Which of the following is NOT a reason for the rapid growth of Social Security benefits in the last two decades?

A)liberalized definitions of disability
B)removal of indexing features in 1983
C)the number of aged is increasing
D)the aged are living longer

Question 42

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 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

Assistance to the poor comes in the form of in-kind assistance.For example

A)free books
B)family planning
C)marital counseling
D)all of the above
E)(b) and (c) only

Question 45

Expenditures for federal employment programs have:

A)risen
B)declined
C)stayed constant

Question 46

"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 47

States Unemployment Insurance is supplement by the federal government during hard economic times.Benefits are extended to during the 2007 - 2009 Great Recession to

A)26 weeks
B)69 weeks
C)99 weeks
D)73 weeks

Question 48

It is cheaper to pay for job training and placement and to pay for child care for low-skilled,minimum wage workers than to pay for welfare recipients to stay home and take care of their children.

Question 49

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 50

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 51

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)was designed for low-income families.The EITC

A)Gives taxpayers a credit from the government for each dollar earned up to a certain point
B)Is a state run program
C)Is only for students
D)The smallest , mean-tested cash benefit federal program

Question 52

Anti-fraud regulations has been found to contribute to high error rates due to the attempts to close loopholes,which increases the complexity of the programs resulting in more mistakes by program employees.

Question 53

TANF is a block grant from the federal government to the states for welfare programs.Under TANF,states are allowed to define the criterion for qualification for assistance.These requirements did not include

A)Requiring marriage
B)Sterilization
C)Time limits
D)Welfare to work

Question 54

Consensus are generally pleased with TANF because

A)it kicks slackers out of the program
B)keep low the cost of cash public assistance to mothers and children
C)keeps the federal government in control of the program
D)make states use their own funding for the program

Question 55

_______________ 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 56

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 57

The EITC has been the most effective mover of person out of poverty.Its characteristics include

A)Encourage single parents to enter work force
B)Rewards two-parent household
C)It is efficient and affordable to administer
D)It is accurate and easy for person to determine if they qualify

Question 58

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 59

Despite public opinion,fraud and corruption in public assistance programs is no more or less of a problem than is found in most other government programs or private business.

Question 60

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 61

•Summarize the conservative and liberal/progressive analyses of the causes of poverty.What are the strengths and the weaknesses of each analysis?
•Compare and contrast the politics of Social Security from the politics of public assistance.What accounts for the similarities and the differences?
•What are the political and economic reasons behind the push to privatize Social Security?
•Which of the following four policy questions is most and which the least amenable to solution (child poverty,the underclass,housing,or employment)? Why do you answer the way you do? How would you reform the one most amenable to solution?
•With the impact of the "baby boom" generation,what changes to social security needs to take place to ensure it survives?
•Compare and contrast the United States welfare system with the welfare systems of Europe.
•Given the financial resources of the United States,why does poverty continue to be an issue?
•What are some of the reasons for people to be chronically poor in the United States?
•President Clinton instituted a "Welfare to Work" component in his program.How has that program helped or hurt welfare recipients to become gainfully employed?
•Why do stereotypes and negative opinion of public assistance programs and its participants persist despite proven success?

Question 62

Expenditures in the Section 8 tenant-based rental assistance program have reached ____________.

A)$7 billion
B)$17 billion
C)5.5 million low-income renter
D)2.3 million low income American

Question 63

Which of the following are among the "quick fixes" for Social Security?

A)privatizing part of SS
B)raising the wage base
C)raising the payroll tax rate
D)investing part of the trust fund in the stock market
E)(b) and (c) only

Question 64

Other countries that use means testing to define poverty include

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

Question 65

Other wealthy,democratic nations have more generous programs that provide for children.The following are examples of services program,EXCEPT for

A)Cass benefits to parents at time of childbirth
B)Universal children's allowance of 5 to 10% of median wage
C)Nanny care
D)Allowances to support a parent taking time away from work

Question 66

Critics argue that the minimum wage needs to be raised because low-skill,minimum wages jobs do not provide workers enough for their family to cover following EXCEPT for

A)Health benefits
B)Transportation
C)Housing
D)Food