AP Gov Ch. 15 Chris Bauder

Question 1

affordable care act

Answer 1

a 2010 law designed to ensure that nearly all Americans would have access to health care coverage, including those living in poverty

Question 2

public policy

Answer 2

an intentional course of action or inaction followed by government in dealing with some problem or matter of concern

Question 3

distributive policies

Answer 3

public policies that provide benefits to individuals, groups, communities, or corporations

Question 4

regulatory policies

Answer 4

public policies that limit the activities of individuals, groups, communities, or corporations

Question 5

systemic agenda

Answer 5

a set of issues to be discussed or given attention; it consists of all public issues viewed as requiring governmental attention

Question 6

governmental (institutional) agenda

Answer 6

problems to which officials feel obliged to devote active and serious attention

Question 7

agenda setting

Answer 7

the process of forming the list of issues to be addressed by government

Question 8

policy formulation

Answer 8

the crafting of proposed courses of action to resolve public problems

Question 9

policy adoption

Answer 9

the approval of a policy proposal by people with the requisite authority, such as a legislature

Question 10

policy implementation

Answer 10

the process of carrying out public policy

Question 11

public evaluation

Answer 11

the process of determining whether a course of action is achieving its intended goals

Question 12

fiscal policy

Answer 12

the deliberate use of the national government’s taxing and spending policies to maintain economic stability

Question 13

national debt

Answer 13

the total amount owed by the federal government to its creditors, both domestic and international

Question 14

laissez-faire

Answer 14

economic philosophy that endorses a very limited role for government in the economy

Question 15

recession

Answer 15

a decline in the economy that occurs as investment sags, production falls off, and unemployment increases

Question 16

depression

Answer 16

a severe and long lasting decline in the economy that occurs as investment sags, production falls off, and unemployment rises

Question 17

keynesian economics

Answer 17

an economic approach first championed by economist john maynard keynes in the 1930’s, who maintained that spending by government can stimulate economic growth much faster than a free market could on its own

Question 18

inflation

Answer 18

a rise in the general price levels of goods and services within an economy

Question 19

budget deficit

Answer 19

the economic condition that occurs when expenditures exceed revenues

Question 20

gross domestic product

Answer 20

the total market value of all goods and services produced in a country during a year

Question 21

monetary policy

Answer 21

a form of government regulation in which the nation’s money supply and interest rates are controlled

Question 22

federal reserve system

Answer 22

the organization in the united states tasked with such responsibilities as managing the money supply, stabilizing prices, moderating interest rates, and reducing unemployment

Question 23

board of governors

Answer 23

in the federal reserve system, a seven-member board that makes most economic decisions regarding interest rates and the supply of money; it is led by the federal reserve chair

Question 24

open market operations

Answer 24

the buying and selling of government securities by the federal reserve bank

Question 25

discount rate

Answer 25

the rate of interest at which the federal reserve board lends money to member banks

Question 26

reserve requirements

Answer 26

government requirements that a portion of member banks’ deposits be retained as backing for their loans

Question 27

medicare

Answer 27

the federal program established during Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration that provides medical care to elderly social security recipients

Question 28

department of health and human services

Answer 28

the cabinet level department administering most federal social welfare and health related policies and programs; it includes the national institutes for health, the cdc, and the fda

Question 29

medicaid

Answer 29

a government program that subsidizes medical care for the poor

Question 30

no child left behind act

Answer 30

bipartisan education reform bill that employed high standards and measurable goals as a method of improving american education across states

Question 31

common care

Answer 31

a voluntarily adopted multi-state approach to setting standards that all students should achieve up through the high school level

Question 32

vouchers

Answer 32

certificates issued by the government that may be applied toward the cost of attending private or other public schools

Question 33

charter schools

Answer 33

semi public schools that have open admission and receive some support from the government and may also receive private donations to increase the quality of education

Question 34

social security act

Answer 34

a 1935 law that established old age insurance; assistance for the needy, aged, blind, and families with dependent children; and unemployment insurance

Question 35

entitlement programs

Answer 35

government benefits that all citizens meeting eligibility criteria-such as age, income level, or unemployment- are legally entitled to receive

Question 36

non-means -tested programs

Answer 36

programs that provide cash assistance to qualified beneficiaries, regardless of income; among these are social security and unemployment insurance

Question 37

means-tested programs

Answer 37

programs requiring beneficiaries to have incomes below specified levels to be eligible for benefits, among these are ssi, tanf, snap