Deck 13: Domestic and Economic Policy

Question 1

Most Americans believe that the problem of illegal immigration is

A)serious, but not a priority issue for government.
B)an area urgently needing government reform.
C)something that will never be resolved.
D)not very important, but in need of minor government reforms.
E)unimportant and a distraction from more important problems.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The hiring of illegal immigrants

A)was made legal in 2010.
B)is very uncommon due to a very small illegal population.
C)is very uncommon, despite a large illegal population.
D)has been against the law since shortly after the Great Depression.
E)has only been against the law since 1986.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

The federal healthcare program that covers U.S. residents over the age of sixty-five is

A)the Affordable Care Act.
B)Social Security.
C)Medicaid.
D)Medicare.
E)S-CHIP.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

It is estimated that the U.S. currently houses __________ unauthorized immigrants.

A)two million
B)eleven million
C)twenty-eight million
D)fifty-seven million
E)over one hundred million

Question 5

All laws, government planning, and government actions that concern internal issues of national importance fall under

A)regulatory policy.
B)promotional policy.
C)domestic policy.
D)monetary policy.
E)foreign policy.

Question 6

The final dollar value of all goods and services produced in a one-year period is the

A)employment rate.
B)national debt.
C)deficit.
D)gross national product.
E)gross domestic product.

Question 7

Policy formulation is

A)the process of making the government aware that an issue requires action.
B)the discussion of proposals between governmental officials and the public.
C)the process of deciding on a specific proposal.
D)concerned with the implementation of policy by bureaucrats, the courts, police, and individual citizens.
E)the process of examining how a policy has worked in practice.

Question 8

The type of policy that seeks to define what is and is not legal is

A)redistributive policy.
B)promotional policy.
C)judicial policy.
D)supreme policy.
E)regulatory policy.

Question 9

Policy implementation is

A)concerned with how policies are carried out by bureaucrats, the courts, police, and individual citizens.
B)the process of making the media aware of the issue.
C)the discussion of proposals between governmental officials and the public.
D)concerned with a specific strategy for the proposal.
E)when studies are conducted to see what happens after a policy is implemented.

Question 10

__________ is an example of an entitlement program.

A)Amtrak
B)The Department of Education
C)Military spending
D)The income tax
E)Social Security

Question 11

All of the following are true of the 2010 Arizona immigration law EXCEPT

A)the law criminalized the failure to carry immigration papers.
B)it required police to question anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant.
C)it penalized the transporting of illegal aliens.
D)it was fully upheld as constitutional by the United States Supreme Court.
E)it penalized the assisting of illegal aliens.

Question 12

Social Security is an example of a

A)regulatory policy.
B)redistributive policy.
C)promotional policy.
D)judicial policy.
E)supreme policy.

Question 13

Americans' attitudes toward illegal immigrants and immigration, as reflected in opinion polling

A)are overwhelmingly favorable toward illegal immigrants.
B)are overwhelmingly unfavorable toward illegal immigrants.
C)are mixed and sometimes contradictory.
D)oppose states setting their own immigration policies.
E)oppose police being able to question anyone about their immigration status.

Question 14

The 2010 law that seeks to ensure health-care insurance for American citizens is

A)the Medicaid Reform Act.
B)the Medicare Reform Act.
C)the Affordable Care Act.
D)the Social Security Act.
E)the Single Payer Act.

Question 15

The policymaking process includes all of the following steps EXCEPT

A)agenda building.
B)policy formulation.
C)policy adoption.
D)policy implementation.
E)policy renewal.

Question 16

During his first campaign for president, Barack Obama proposed

A)English as the national language, to discourage illegal immigration.
B)ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants.
C)a new minimum wage that would apply only to illegal immigrants.
D)giving illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.
E)English as the national language, to discourage illegal immigration, and ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants.

Question 17

Which is true of policy evaluation?

A)If the policy is not working at the time of evaluation, then the policy is always repealed.
B)It is the fourth step in policymaking and comes directly after policy adoption.
C)When a policy has been in place for a while, evaluations are made inside and outside the government to determine if the program is working.
D)ObamaCare has had extensive policy evaluation to date.
E)There is a time limit to the period of policy evaluation.

Question 18

Since 1965, the share of the U.S. national income spent on healthcare has

A)declined dramatically.
B)steadily declined.
C)remained level.
D)increased almost every year.
E)had equal periods of rising and falling.

Question 19

It is estimated that by 2050, minority groups

A)will be replaced by a new wave of European immigration.
B)will begin emigrating from the United States to other places.
C)will be fully assimilated into the U.S.population.
D)will earn more, on average, than the typical white American worker.
E)will collectively constitute a majority of the U.S.population.

Question 20

The part of the policymaking process that involves choosing a specific policy from among the proposals that have been discussed is known as

A)policy formulation.
B)policy implementation.
C)policy adoption.
D)policy choices.
E)policy determination.

Question 21

All of the following environmental actions occurred during the Obama administration EXCEPT

A)the EPA was captured by interests of the coal and oil industries.
B)the EPA issued a finding that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare.
C)the EPA issued rules making new coal-based power plants nearly impossible to construct.
D)President Obama prevented the Keystone XL pipeline from being constructed.
E)President Obama issued new EPA rules to cut emissions from existing power plants.

Question 22

Ethanol is a fuel that is

A)​made from corn.
B)​subsidized by the government.
C)​criticized as inefficient to produce.
D)​related to rising food costs.
E)​All of these choices are true.

Question 23

Which of the following is true?

A)The United States experienced a great crime wave during the 1920s and early 1930s due to prohibition.
B)Crime rates grew steadily in the twentieth century.
C)According to historians, industrialization and urbanization contributed to the rise of crime.
D)The Western part of the United States had less crime in the nineteenth century due to the fact that all citizens carried guns.
E)During the Civil War, there was little crime as everyone focused on the war effort.

Question 24

​Opening new areas for oil and gas drilling has in recent years

A)​been strongly supported by the Republican Party.
B)​been strongly supported by the Democratic Party.
C)​faced controversy due to major oil spills.
D)​been strongly supported by the Republican Party and faced controversy due to major oil spills.
E)been strongly supported by the Democratic Party and faced controversy due to major oil spills.

Question 25

There is a great deal of skepticism about the existence of man-made climate change among

A)Democrats.
B)Republicans.
C)scientists.
D)the international community.
E)environmentalists.

Question 26

Which of the following statements regarding incarceration is true?

A)Incarceration does not prevent average predatory street criminals from committing additional crimes once they are out of prison.
B)The majority of prisoners are incarcerated for their full sentence.
C)Incarceration rates for African Americans are much lower than for any other ethnic group.
D)The majority of people arrested and sent to jail have committed the crime of theft.
E)Overcrowding is not an issue in prisons.

Question 27

In the 2012 elections, Latinos

A)largely supported Democratic candidates, due to President Obama's plan to grant amnesty to all illegal immigrants.
B)largely supported Republican candidates, due to President Obama's record number of deportations.
C)largely supported Democratic candidates, due to Republicans taking a hard line against immigration.
D)turned out in record low numbers, due to disappointment with the Democratic administration's immigration policies.
E)largely supported Democratic candidates, due to President Obama's plan to grant amnesty to all illegal immigrants and Republicans taking a hard line against immigration.

Question 28

Theft rates in the United States

A)have declined substantially during the last two decades.
B)are at their highest levels ever.
C)have declined moderately since 1995 after rising rapidly for two decades.
D)have remained constant for thirty years.
E)have risen moderately since 1995 after declining rapidly for two decades.

Question 29

The number of incarcerated persons in the United States

A)includes an equal number of African American males and females.
B)has increased requiring more prisons to be built.
C)has declined in recent years.
D)is greater in federal prisons than state prisons.
E)is growing mostly due to arrests to prevent terrorism.

Question 30

Despite the lack of federal government action, in 2011

A)CO₂ emissions in the United States were down due to newer fuel-efficient cars.
B)CO₂ emissions in the United States were down due to newer power plants coming on line that used natural gas instead of coal.
C)CO₂ emissions in the United States were down due to tougher emissions laws passed by states.
D)CO₂ emissions in the United States were down due to a colder winter.
E)CO₂ emissions in the United States were down due to newer fuel-efficient cars, and due to newer power plants coming on line that used natural gas instead of coal.

Question 31

​With regard to sources of energy in the United States

A)​wind and solar power make up about half of the country's energy.
B)​nuclear power plants are becoming more popular due to their low costs.
C)​coal is on the decline due to low natural gas prices.
D)​the country is becoming more dependent on foreign sources of oil.
E)​All of these choices are true.

Question 32

The population group with the highest incarceration rate is

A)non-Hispanic white men, ages 30-34.
B)non-Hispanic African American men, ages 30-34.
C)non-Hispanic Asian American men, ages 30-34.
D)Hispanic men, ages 25-29.
E)non-Hispanic African American women, ages 30-35.

Question 33

The process of injecting water, sand, and chemicals under high pressure into rocks to release oil and natural gas is known as

A)​hydraulic fracturing.
B)​fracking.
C)​pressurized energy release.
D)hydraulic fracturing and fracking.
E)​All of these choices are true.

Question 34

On the issue of global warning, many Americans

A)​do not believe it is occurring.
B)​do not believe that it is caused by human actions.
C)​believe that it is caused by the government.
D)​do not believe it is occurring and do not believe that it is caused by human actions.
E)do not believe that it is caused by human actions and believe that it is caused by the government.

Question 35

During President Obama's first term, _______________ were deported.

A)almost no illegal immigrants
B)only illegal immigrants from Latin America
C)only adult illegal immigrants
D)a number of illegal immigrants roughly consistent with prior administrations
E)a record high number of illegal immigrants

Question 36

The number of persons held in jail or prison for every 100,000 persons in a particular population group is known as the

A)prison rate.
B)imprisonment numbers.
C)capacity figures.
D)incarceration rate.
E)recidivism rate.

Question 37

High prices of commodities like oil provide an incentive

A)to produce more of it.
B)for producers to slow production to boost prices higher.
C)to protect the environment.
D)to develop new technology to extract the oil.
E)to produce more of it, and to develop new technology to extract the oil.

Question 38

With regard to the issue of oil and energy

A)the United States' dependence on foreign oil is down sharply from just a few years ago.
B)a new technology called fracking is allowing more oil to be extracted from domestic and Canadian sources.
C)fracking can only extract oil, not natural gas.
D)the United States gets nearly 80 percent of its oil and gas from foreign sources.
E)the United States' dependence on foreign oil is down sharply from just a few years ago, and a new technology called fracking is allowing more oil to be extracted from domestic and Canadian sources.

Question 39

Today, crime rates are

A)growing quickly.
B)much higher than they were in the mid 1990s.
C)slightly higher than they were in the mid 1990s.
D)about the same as they were in the mid 1990s.
E)generally lower than they were in the mid 1990s.

Question 40

Each of the following statements about incarceration is true EXCEPT

A)the number of incarcerated people has grown rapidly in recent years.
B)men are ten times more likely to be incarcerated than women.
C)prisoners are disproportionately African American.
D)the current incarceration rate is close to an all-time high.
E)despite the large population of prisoners, the prison system is below capacity.

Question 41

Because of the __________, the United States does indeed have a __________.

A)income tax; progressive tax system
B)income tax; regressive tax system
C)property tax; progressive tax system
D)Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); regressive tax system
E)sales tax; progressive tax system

Question 42

With a progressive tax

A)all taxpayers pay taxes at the same percentage rate.
B)people with higher incomes pay taxes at a higher percentage rate.
C)people with higher incomes pay taxes at a lower percentage rate.
D)the tax burden consists mostly of property and sales taxes.
E)tax rates increase by a set percentage every year.

Question 43

The net public debt is defined as

A)the total amount owed by all individuals, corporations, and governments in the United States.
B)the total amount owed by the federal government to individuals, businesses, and foreigners.
C)a percentage of the gross national product not to exceed 10 percent of all gross sales.
D)money not available for use.
E)the total amount owed by the federal government to individuals, businesses, and foreigners, as well as interagency borrowings within the government.

Question 44

All of the following are taxes paid by Americans EXCEPT

A)the Social Security tax.
B)the Medicare tax.
C)the Veterans Support tax.
D)state sales taxes.
E)federal income taxes.

Question 45

Which of the following statements regarding unemployment is true?

A)When unemployment is increasing, it is a sign of a recession.
B)Unemployment figures that estimate the number of unemployed are prepared by the U.S.Department of Labor.
C)The published unemployment numbers fail to reflect the number of discouraged workers and "hidden unemployed."
D)Unemployment is defined as the inability of those in the workforce to find a job.
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 46

​_____________ is an example of a progressive tax, while ____________ is an example of a regressive tax.

A)​The Medicare tax; the state sales tax
B)​The Social Security tax; the state sales tax
C)​The state sales tax; the Social Security tax
D)​The Federal income tax; the Medicare tax
E)​None of these choices is true.

Question 47

Tight monetary policy theory dictates that when the economy is faced with inflation, the government should

A)increase the supply of credit.
B)increase taxes.
C)decrease the supply of credit.
D)decrease taxes.
E)take complete control of the economy.

Question 48

Which of the following is true?

A)A recession is defined as two or more successive quarters in which the economy shrinks instead of grows.
B)A recession is defined as two or more quarters in which unemployment rates are above 7 percent.
C)Unemployment is defined as the total number of workers who are not in the workforce in any given quarter.
D)Inflation is defined as a sudden rise in prices for hot commodities such as gasoline and electronics.
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 49

​A loose monetary policy is often enacted in order to

A)​fight inflation.
B)​encourage economic growth.
C)​reduce the supply of credit.
D)​raise the costs of credit.
E)​fight inflation and encourage economic growth.

Question 50

In comparing the total amount of taxes collected as a percentage of gross domestic product

A)Sweden's rate is the lowest in the world.
B)one of the countries with the highest rate is the United States.
C)most countries in Europe have lower rates than the United States.
D)the rate of the United States is around 26 percent.
E)Sweden's rate is the lowest in the world, and most countries in Europe have lower rates than the United States.

Question 51

Monetary policy includes

A)using changes in the rate at which new money is put into circulation to alter national economic variables.
B)using changes in the size of the federal budget deficit to alter national economic variables.
C)regulating tax rates to ensure controlled growth and low inflation.
D)the economic policies of the president and Congress.
E)linkage of the consumer price index and the gross national product.

Question 52

​All of the following might be expected fiscal policies under a Keynesian approach EXCEPT

A)​running a budget deficit.
B)​lowering taxes to increase public spending.
C)expanding government spending through new projects.
D)​government borrowing to fund programs.
E)​cutting both taxes and spending.

Question 53

Legal methods by which individuals and businesses reduce their tax liabilities are called

A)​regressive taxes.
B)​black holes.
C)​loopholes.
D)​tax credits.
E)​None of these choices is true.

Question 54

Which of the following is not a progressive tax?

A)Social Security tax
B)Medicare tax
C)state income tax
D)federal income tax
E)estate tax

Question 55

Tax loopholes allow individuals and corporations to

A)reduce their taxable income legally.
B)choose the state to which they will pay taxes.
C)register formal complaints to the Internal Revenue Service.
D)pay taxes only on investment income.
E)commit crimes without fear of incarceration.

Question 56

The federal income tax is an example of ____________, while the Social Security tax is an example of ______________.​

A)​a progressive tax; a regressive tax
B)​a regressive tax; a progressive tax
C)​a sales tax; a regressive tax
D)​a progressive tax; a sales tax
E)​a progressive tax; a capital gains tax

Question 57

Fiscal policy

A)is popular with conservatives.
B)is an approach to stabilize the economy through control of the money supply.
C)is controlled by the Federal Reserve Bank.
D)is an approach to stabilizing the economy through government spending and taxing.
E)requires that, during economic slowdowns, the government tighten its belt on spending.

Question 58

​The Federal Reserve System was created by Congress to

A)​designate certain governmental powers as reserved for the federal government.
B)​provide a secondary military force in times of war.
C)​pay off the national debt.
D)​serve as the nation's central banking organization.
E)​None of these choices is true.

Question 59

Keynesian economics advocates

A)government control of markets.
B)manipulation of monetary policy.
C)the use of government spending and taxing to help stabilize the economy.
D)acceptance of the theories of Adam Smith.
E)laissez-faire economics.

Question 60

The highest rate of taxation that one pays on the last dollar he or she makes is called the

A)progressive tax rate.
B)regressive tax rate.
C)marginal tax rate.
D)tax liability rate.
E)temporary tax rate.

Question 61

Explain the impact of Keynesian economics on fiscal policy in the United States.

Question 62

Explain the difference between progressive and regressive taxes. Would we be better served by simply employing a flat tax across the board?

Question 63

Examine the federal budget deficit, why it occurred, and what measures should be taken to bring it down.

Question 64

Discuss the idea of energy independence and how or why the United States has moved in that direction in recent years.

Question 65

Assess the advantages and disadvantages of a nation having a substantial immigrant population.

Question 66

Discuss the problems facing the American healthcare system prior to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and they ways in which the Act does or does not address those problems effectively.

Question 67

Explain the stages of the policymaking process.

Question 68

Discuss recent trends in crime rates and detail the explanations given for these changes.

Question 69

Explain the idea of climate change and the ways in which this phenomenon has become politicized in U.S. politics.

Question 70

Discuss the issue of incarceration rates in the United States and how they relate to the rates of crime in American society.