The U.S. social welfare system differs markedly from those of Western European democracies, a situation that is attributable in large part to America's
cultural emphasis on individualism, and federal system of government.
greater wealth, and cultural emphasis on charitable acts.
weak party system, and separation of executive and legislative power.
egalitarian ethos, and pluralist group system.
dependence on foreign oil.
The poverty line is defined as
the income level below which 10 percent of the American people live.
three times the annual cost of a thrifty food budget for an urban family of four.
the annual cost of all goods and services that a person can reasonably be expected to want.
the percentage of homeless people.
the income level below which 20 percent of the American people live.
According to survey data,
Americans prefer money as the primary form of welfare assistance.
most Americans believe that welfare recipients could get along without assistance if they tried.
Americans prefer government jobs through government programs as the primary form of welfare assistance.
the vast majority of Americans believe there should be absolutely no government services for the poor of any kind.
None of these answers is correct.
________ has the highest child poverty rate among the major industrialized nations.
Sweden
Norway
France
Germany
The United States
The bureaucratic costs of welfare are substantially lower in Europe because most European countries
farm out their welfare programs to the local level, where administration is more efficient.
require that each individual prove his or her own eligibility.
do not allow universal eligibility.
have unitary rather than federal systems.
offer far fewer welfare benefits than the United States.
Poverty is a condition that today affects roughly one in ________ Americans.
two
three
eight
twenty
fifty
In his book, Losing Ground, Charles Murray argues that
welfare reform can only be enacted through a new war on poverty.
welfare programs should be modeled after European models and not kept in their current form.
welfare programs create a foundation for a permanent underclass of unproductive people.
welfare programs should be based on the principle of efficiency, not the principle of equity.
welfare programs should be terminated completely.
________ was terminated in 1996.
The Food Stamps program
Medicaid
Medicare
SSI
AFDC
The term entitlement refers to a program
that provides indirect payments to individuals, such as funding for public schools.
benefiting individuals, designed specifically to alleviate the hardships of old age.
that requires the payment of benefits to any individual who meets the eligibility criteria.
of social welfare for which citizenship is the only criterion of eligibility.
The EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) represents a reallocation of income to
wealthy individuals.
lower-income working individuals.
middle-class taxpayers.
corporations.
all working families.
Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal represented the concept of ________ government.
positive
negative
laissez-faire
subnational
The defining characteristic of a social insurance program is that
eligibility is restricted to individuals who paid special payroll taxes during their working years.
it is administered jointly by the national government and the states.
it is targeted at those who are most in need of welfare assistance.
it is administered through private insurance companies.
Social insurance programs have high levels of public support because
of their self-financing feature.
they are based on an equality principle—all citizens are eligible for the benefits and all recipients receive the same level of benefits.
their cost is consistently below the spending level for public assistance programs.
of the necessity of increased taxes to fund them.
The Social Security benefits that today's retirees receive are funded primarily by
tax contributions they made in the past, which were put in a trust fund from which current payments are made.
payroll taxes on people who are currently working.
equal contributions from the national and state governments.
borrowed funds, which contribute to the national debt.
The term means test refers to
the tax on a portion of the Social Security benefits of upper-income retirees.
whether an applicant's income is low enough to qualify for public assistance.
the mandatory physical examination that Medicare and Medicaid applicants must undergo before they can receive benefits.
the mandatory psychological examination that Medicare and Medicaid applicants must undergo before they can receive benefits.
The child poverty rate in the United States is about
12 percent.
20 percent.
38 percent.
6 percent.
40 percent.
The Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program was unpopular in part because of
its public perception of welfare dependency and irresponsibility
lack of public concern for child welfare.
public opposition to locally administered welfare programs.
public opposition to welfare programs for the needy.
The Food Stamps program is
criticized because some believe it allows undeserving people to get aid.
criticized because some think it stigmatizes its users by identifying them publicly as welfare cases.
an in-kind benefit.
criticized because some think it is too costly.
All these answers are correct.
Which of the following statements is NOT true about Medicaid?
It is a public assistance program.
It is funded by general tax revenues.
It serves all Americans who cannot afford health insurance.
It is controversial due to its cost.
It is funded by both the federal government and the states.
Which of the following is true of social security and Medicare?
Eligibility requirements make sure that all social security beneficiaries have an absolute economic need for the benefit.
Spending on Medicare and social security exceeds the total of all spending of public assistance programs.
Most retirees receive less in social security benefits than they contributed in payroll taxes while working.
Social security income is decided as follows: the lower your income while working, the larger your social security benefit upon retirement.
Families in the top fifth of the income population receive more in social security and Medicare benefits than the government spends in total on TANF, SSI, food stamps, and housing subsidies for the poor.
The best predictor of how well schools perform on standardized tests is the
salary levels of the teachers.
population density of the community.
level of local school board control over policy.
community's wealth.
percentage of private to public schools in the community.
More than 90 percent of the funding for K-12 public education comes from
the federal government.
the state governments.
local governments.
state and local governments.
private sources.
Which of the following statements is true concerning American public opinion on school vouchers?
Americans are divided in their opinions on school vouchers.
Americans strongly support school vouchers.
Americans strongly oppose school vouchers.
Most Americans have never heard of school vouchers.
Americans favor higher taxes to pay for vouchers.
In ________, Congress added a prescription drug benefit to Medicare.
1967
1978
1986
1994
2006
Which of the following is true of the federal government's role in education?
The federal government provides roughly 25% of total school funding throughout the country.
The federal government provides roughly 70% of total school funding throughout the country.
The federal government's role in education was relatively small before the 1960s.
The 1964 Higher Education Act devolved a lot of education policy back to the states.
Pell grants remain the states' largest source of financial control over school policies.
________ was called "the great leveler" when it began in the early nineteenth century.
Social welfare
Public education
The federal government
The Internal Revenue Service
Social security
A U.S. Bureau of Labor study revealed that about six out of seven workers who lost their job did so because
they were fired.
of either a temporary layoff or the permanent elimination of a job position.
they are undereducated for the work they are doing.
they wanted to be out of work in order to collect unemployment benefits.
Welfare policy in the United States
is often an issue that divides the two political parties.
is based entirely on the principle of need.
is entirely a federal issue.
is entirely a state issue.
has changed very little during the nation's history.
Which of the following is NOT a guideline within which the TANF program must operate?
States have no discretion in their handling of welfare cases.
Eligibility for cash assistance is limited to no more than five years in a lifetime.
Within two years, the heads of most families on welfare have to find work or risk the loss of benefits.
Unmarried teenage mothers qualify for welfare benefits only if they remain in school and live with a parent or legal guardian.
Single mothers will lose a portion of their benefits if they refuse to cooperate in identifying the father of their children.
