Deck 11: The Bureaucratic Elite

Question 1

The portion of the federal budget that is non-entitlement and non-defense is approximately

A) 5 percent
B) 12 percent
C) 25 percent
D) 36 percent

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The power of bureaucracies grows with

A) advances in technology.
B) increased tax revenue.
C) popular demand.
D) executive orders.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The single biggest item in the budget is

A) Social Security.
B) Medicare.
C) military and defense.
D) education.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Presidential power over the bureaucracy comes from all but which of the following?

A) Direct oversight
B) The power to reorganize the bureaucracy
C) The authority to appoint secretaries and other top officials
D) The formal power over the budget

Question 5

The federal government finances itself primarily from

A) individual income tax and social security payroll taxes.
B) corporate taxes and social security payroll taxes.
C) estate taxes and import tariffs.
D) borrowing from foreign banks.

Question 6

Which of the following is not a component of an "iron triangle"?

A) Elected representatives
B) An executive agency
C) Interest group representatives
D) The media

Question 7

Every one who works for the Federal government

A) reports to the president or his cabinet officials.
B) is a civil servant.
C) earns substantially more than those in the private sector.
D) has some college education.

Question 8

Social Security and Medicare taxes are paid

A) by all citizens of the United States.
B) entirely by employees.
C) entirely by employers.
D) half by employees and half by employers.

Question 9

What is the purpose of the "ten commandments" of bureaucratic infighting?

A) Outmaneuvering elected officials
B) Promoting share of the budgetary pie
C) The accrual of power to elites
D) Obstructionism

Question 10

Agencies that feel they did not get enough money out of the budget may employ which of the following tactics?

A) Engage supporting interest groups
B) Appeal to congressional subcommittees
C) Attempt to create a public outcry
D) All of the above are true.

Question 11

When choosing members of his cabinet the president

A) always chooses people from his own party.
B) always chooses an equal number of people from both parties.
C) must choose from the elected elites.
D) may choose anyone he wants.

Question 12

Symbolic laws passed by Congress allow it to

A) pass dealing with the details onto the bureaucracy.
B) avoid responsibility for unpopular policies.
C) appeal to voter concerns.
D) All of the above are true.

Question 13

Foreign investors hold about______________ percent of American debt.

A) 10
B) 20
C) 30
D) 50

Question 14

Federal budget surpluses ended after 2001 because of

A) increased spending for homeland security.
B) tax cuts, which reduced government revenues.
C) the recession, which began in early 2001.
D) All of the above are true.

Question 15

Which is not one of Max Weber's characteristics of a bureaucracy?

A) Neutrality
B) Specialization
C) Hierarchy
D) Flexibility

Question 16

President Richard Nixon attempted to deal with the problem of bureaucratic power by

A) appointing Republicans to leadership positions.
B) increasing the power of his White House staff.
C) cutting the budget to "starve out" the bureaucracy.
D) making an alliance with Congress.

Question 17

Cabinet meetings are held by the president in order to

A) decide important policy questions.
B) provide the president with expert information.
C) help the president sell already-decided views.
D) give governmental elites a chance to plot.

Question 18

All requests for funding by executive agencies must be cleared by the

A) president.
B) appropriate departmental secretary.
C) Congress.
D) Office of Management and Budget.

Question 19

"Capping entitlements" is widely recognized by economists as the only way to rein in future federal spending, but

A) there is little agreement on what those caps should be.
B) few in Washington want to take on senior citizen lobbyists.
C) many members of Congress receive campaign money from AARP.
D) All of the above are true.

Question 20

"Capital gains" or income from investments, is taxed

A) at the same rate as income from employment.
B) at a higher rate than income from pensions.
C) at a lower rate than income from employment
D) at a higher rate than income from pensions.

Question 21

The Federal Reserve, or the Fed, is fully independent, meaning

A) it must act in accordance with the president's policies.
B) its decisions are reviewable by the courts.
C) its members are elected by the voters.
D) its decisions need not be ratified by the president, Congress, or the courts.

Question 22

The 2010 Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, known as Dodd-Frank, after its authors

A) created a new government department to oversee the Fed.
B) limited the authority of the Fed.
C) added considerable flexibility to regulation.
D) reduced the portion of the budget that goes to the Fed.

Question 23

Budget implementation is the development of procedures and activities to carry out

A) the directives of the president.
B) the will of the people.
C) the rulings of the Courts.
D) the policies legislated by Congress.

Question 24

The main goal of a bureaucracy is to

A) serve the public needs.
B) execute the laws of Congress.
C) grow in size and funding.
D) promote the use of technology in government.

Question 25

"Revolving doors" refers to

A) Washington insiders that are frequently kept out of the political process.
B) Washington insiders that set the agenda that the media cover.
C) Washington insiders that earn more than their counter parts in other cities.
D) Washington insiders that frequently change jobs.

Question 26

The Ethics in Government Act limits the post-government employment of former Congress members by not permitting them to

A) have any involvement with executive agencies for two years, on matters over which they had previously had any responsibility.
B) lobby Congress for five years after leaving office.
C) lobby agencies or Congress for two years after leaving office.
D) lobby Congress for one year after leaving office.

Question 27

The branch of the federal government with the most direct control over the bureaucracy is the

A) judicial branch.
B) executive branch (president).
C) legislative branch.
D) both A and C

Question 28

America's money supply is controlled by

A) the Department of the Treasury.
B) the Federal Reserve System.
C) the President (with the Council of Economic Advisors).
D) Congress (subcommittee on Money).

Question 29

If increased regulation and new regulations increase the cost to businesses

A) small businesses are greatly advantaged.
B) the cost is equally shared by small and large businesses.
C) small businesses find it harder to compete.
D) All of the above are true.

Question 30

A technical expert with the knowledge of information and technology needed to carry out policy is called a ____________________.

Question 31

Congress can restrain the bureaucracy through

A) passing legislation that changes regulations.
B) mobilizing the people to protest.
C) suing an executive agency in court.
D) All of the above are true.

Question 32

Controversial bureaucratic regulations often remain in place due to

A) the slow moving nature of the U.S. Congress.
B) key committee members blocking corrective legislation.
C) the president's refusal to sign bills correcting or overturning the regulation.
D) All of the above are true.

Question 33

"Issue networks" are

A) the connections elected representatives make with voters.
B) the connections among those who hold positions in multiple iron triangles.
C) the connections between the bureaucracy and members of Congress.
D) all of the above.

Question 34

Currently the U. S. debt is $________________ trillion and growing.

A) 6.1
B) 16
C) 56
D) 65

Question 35

The argument over the roll of the EPA in regulating the practice of "fracking" is an example of

A) the competing demands for cheap energy and the cost to the environment.
B) the competing demands for nutritious food and animal safety.
C) the competing demands of environmentalists and journalists.
D) the competing demands of the Courts and the congress.

Question 36

To stabilize the banking system and control the supply of money, the Fed requires all banks to

A) keep as much cash available as they loan out.
B) maintain a reserve cash supply in each bank location.
C) maintain a reserve in currency or in deposits with a Federal Reserve bank.
D) All of the above are true.

Question 37

The idea that regulated industries come to benefit from government regulation and regulators begin to represent the regulated is known as

A) corruption.
B) the capture theory.
C) the iron triangle.
D) establishmentarianism.

Question 38

Federal courts can prevent harmful regulation by

A) ruling on the benefits of a regulation.
B) issuing a court order to stop implementation.
C) training citizens to fight government through civil disobedience.
D) creating a counter-iron triangle with Congress and opposed interests.

Question 39

The costs of government regulation are paid for by

A) businesses.
B) workers and employees.
C) consumers.
D) all of the above.

Question 40

Prior to the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, government jobs were handed out to reward political support, which is referred to as ____________________.

Question 41

The executive branch was reorganized after the terrorist attacks of 2001 to create a new Department of ____________________.

Question 42

Income from investments, or _______________ are taxed at a lower rate than income from employment.

Question 43

A program that has benefits limited to lower-income families is said to be ____________________.

Question 44

________________________ is the development of formal rules for implementing legislation.

Question 45

The ____________________ has as its function to prepare the budget of the United States for the president to submit to Congress.

Question 46

A tax that captures a larger share of income from higher-income earners is called ___________________.

Question 47

The ____________________ is the most important policy statement of any government.

Question 48

In the absence of either an approved budget or a ____________________, the federal government is supposed to shut down.

Question 49

Budget items determined by past decision of Congress that represent commitments to future budgets are known as ____________________.

Question 50

The line-item veto was held __________________by the Supreme Court.

Question 51

The capture theory of regulation describes how regulated industries come to benefit from government regulation and how regulatory commissions come to represent the ___________________________, not the "people."

Question 52

The federal income tax is highly ____________________, capturing a larger share of the income of higher-income workers than lower-income workers.

Question 53

A political head in a bureaucracy who yields to the pressure of career bureaucrats is said to ____________________.

Question 54

The annual excess of expenditures over revenues is called the ____________________.

Question 55

The bureaucracy takes on functions similar to that of the federal courts in a procedure known as ____________________.

Question 56

"Capping entitlements" is widely recognized by economists as the only way to rein in future federal spending, but few in Washington want to take on__________________________

Question 57

No federal money can be spent without ____________________.

Question 58

The group that consists of the leaders of the 15 executive departments, the president, and vice president is known as the ____________________.

Question 59

____________________ refers to the frequent change of jobs by elites among bureaucracy, business, and other government positions.

Question 60

Individuals who hold positions in multiple iron triangle relationships help to create ____________________.

Question 61

The president has unlimited power of the bureaucracy.

Question 62

To stabilize the banking system and control the supply of money, the Fed requires all banks to maintain a ___________________in currency or in deposits with a Federal Reserve bank.

Question 63

For four years under President Clinton, the government ran a surplus.

Question 64

Bureaucrats generally believe strongly in their programs and are motivated by the importance of their tasks.

Question 65

Regulations produced by the bureaucracy have the effect of law.

Question 66

Bureaucracy is defined as a form of social organization, such as a corporation or government.

Question 67

The percentage of federal spending on defense in 2008 is less than half what it was in 1960.

Question 68

Only Congress has the power to reorganize the bureaucracy.

Question 69

Bureaucrats often feel contempt for political leaders as they feel politicians do not have sufficient expertise.

Question 70

The budget process varies in its timing each year with the strength of the economy and tax receipts.

Question 71

Decisions of the ___________________ need not be ratified by the president, Congress, or the courts.

Question 72

Income from investments called capital gains, are taxed at a lower rate than income from employment.

Question 73

Power in the United States is shifting to people with expertise and control of information.

Question 74

Social security payroll taxes apply to all wage income.

Question 75

The 2010 Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, known by its main authors' names as Dodd-Frank, was in response to ___________________________.

Question 76

The line-item veto was held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Question 77

The bureaucracy is a political force that lobbies on its own behalf.

Question 78

The bureaucracy has roughly 2.8 million employees.

Question 79

The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Act of 1974 forces Congress to stay on schedule and adhere to specific procedures.

Question 80

Currently the U. S. debt is $________________ trillion and growing.