Exam 4 Flashcards
By what year did African Americans and women both have the constitutional right to vote?
1866
1920
1965
1980
1920
By what year were African Americans and women actually able to vote in large numbers?
1866
1920
1965
1980
1965
The practice of financial institutions refusing to lend money for housing mortgages for entire neighborhoods is called
exclusionary zoning.
financial zoning.
restrictive lending.
redlining.
redlining.
In what case did the U.S. Supreme Court declare that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal”?
Plessy v. Ferguson
Lawrence v. Texas
Gratz v. Bollinger
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Which of the following best summarizes the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education?
Racially segregated schools can never be equal and therefore violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
States choosing to have segregated schools need to spend more money to make African American schools equal.
The federal judiciary, not Congress, has the power to enforce civil rights.
School segregation is unfair but does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment.
Racially segregated schools can never be equal and therefore violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
When the Supreme Court decided in __________ that violations of Title IX of the 1972 Education Act could be remedied with monetary damages, schools were forced to take seriously the issue of sexual harassment.
Mendez v. Westminister
Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.
Loving v. Virginia
Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools
Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools
What was the Supreme Court’s response to the Civil Rights Act of 1875?
It declared the act constitutional.
It declared the act unconstitutional because the Constitution only protects against acts of private discrimination, not state discrimination.
It declared the act unconstitutional because Congress had violated the principles of federalism.
The Supreme Court never heard a case concerning the constitutionality of this act.
It declared the act unconstitutional because the Constitution only protects against acts of private discrimination, not state discrimination.
According to the authors of the textbook, what is the current status of school desegregation?
The Court has ruled that race cannot be a factor in assigning students to schools to achieve greater racial diversity, so one of the few strategies to promote racial integration has been eliminated.
As a result of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, school desegregation efforts have largely been achieved.
Schools in the South have been desegregated, but due to the courts’ reluctance to impose remedies for de facto segregation, schools in the North remain segregated.
Once again it seems that the Court, under the leadership of Chief Justice Roberts, is ready to start the so-called “third wave” of desegregation efforts.
The Court has ruled that race cannot be a factor in assigning students to schools to achieve greater racial diversity, so one of the few strategies to promote racial integration has been eliminated.
To draw voting districts so that one group or party is unfairly advantaged is called
disenfranchisement.
gerrymandering.
busing.
logrolling.
gerrymandering.
The Supreme Court has ruled that illegal immigrants are eligible for all of the following except
public education.
emergency medical care.
welfare benefits.
The government must provide all of these benefits to illegal immigrants.
welfare benefits.
For the first hundred years after the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Supreme Court interpreted the equal protection clause to
require public facilities be shared by whites and blacks.
permit a system of segregated social facilities.
maintain integrated private facilities.
make sure that black schools got equal funding.
permit a system of segregated social facilities.
Affirmative action allows companies to
set quotas for the number of minorities they will hire.
guarantee that a minority must be hired for the next job opening.
consider minority status, all other things being equal.
set quotas for the number of women they will hire.
consider minority status, all other things being equal.
____________ is defined as compensatory action to overcome the consequences of past discrimination.
Affirmative action Reverse discrimination Compensatory damages Punitive damages
Affirmative action
In 1990, Congress passed the ____________, which guarantees equal employment rights and access to public businesses for the disabled.
Civil Rights Act
Equal Access Act
Americans with Disabilities Act
Public Facilities Rehabilitation Act
Americans with Disabilities Act
In their response to Brown v. Board of Education, southern states did all of the following except
pass laws requiring schools to remain segregated.
centralize school boards to prevent local districts from obeying the Supreme Court.
protest the constitutionality of the Court’s decision.
quickly desegregate the schools.
quickly desegregate the schools.
In cases of racial discrimination, the Supreme Court uses the ____________ test.
Lemon
community standards
strict scrutiny
intermediate scrutiny
strict scrutiny
Which of the following best describes how to distinguish civil rights from civil liberties?
Unlike civil liberties, civil rights place positive obligations on the government to take action.
Unlike civil liberties, civil rights restrict and limit government action.
Unlike civil liberties, only state governments enforce civil rights.
Unlike civil liberties, civil rights protect corporations as well as individuals.
Unlike civil liberties, civil rights place positive obligations on the government to take action.
The policy of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” concerned
prohibitions on asking about a woman’s marital status in job hiring.
not penalizing companies who fire older Americans.
permitting states and cities to determine their own policies on same-sex marriage.
allowing gays and lesbians to serve in the military as long as they do not openly proclaim their sexual orientation or engage in homosexual activity.
allowing gays and lesbians to serve in the military as long as they do not openly proclaim their sexual orientation or engage in homosexual activity.
By far the most important piece of legislation passed by Congress fostering equal opportunity in the United States was the
Dred Scott law.
Equal Pay Act of 1963.
Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Civil Rights Act of 1991.
Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Since 1975, Native Americans have
lost the right to speak their own languages.
successfully sued the federal government for illegally seizing Native American lands.
failed to gain federal recognition of their sovereignty.
used civil disobedience to regain tribal territories.
successfully sued the federal government for illegally seizing Native American lands.
What Supreme Court case first restricted the use of racial quotas in university admissions?
University of California v. Bakke
Brown v. Board of Education
Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio
Hopwood v. University of Texas
University of California v. Bakke
What was the Seneca Falls Convention?
an important gathering that initiated the abolitionist movement
a convention of southern leaders in the 1850s debating succession
the convention that wrote and debated the Fourteenth Amendment
the convention that wrote and debated the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions
the convention that wrote and debated the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions
What is the practice of restrictive covenants?
the practice of requiring separate public facilities for African Americans and whites
a type of literacy exam used in the South to keep African Americans from voting
the seller of a home adding a clause to the sales contract that requires the buyer to agree not to sell the home later to an African American, a Jew, etc.
a type of poll tax
the seller of a home adding a clause to the sales contract that requires the buyer to agree not to sell the home later to an African American, a Jew, etc.
Legal segregation is called ____________ segregation.
de jure
de facto
state-sanctioned
discrimination
de jure
Which constitutional amendment abolished slavery?
Tenth
Thirteenth
Fourteenth
Fifteenth
Thirteenth
The decision in which court case established the principle of separate but equal?
Dred Scott
Brown v. Board of Education
The Slaughterhouse Cases
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson
“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” This is the wording of which amendment to the constitution?
the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
the equal protection of the laws clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
the Nineteenth Amendment
There is no such clause in the U.S. constitution.
There is no such clause in the U.S. constitution.
Against which group is it still legal to discriminate in hiring (in most states)?
African Americans
Older Americans
Women
It is illegal to discriminate against any of these groups in job hiring.
It is illegal to discriminate against any of these groups in job hiring.
In Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), the Supreme Court ruled that Michigan Law School’s affirmative action policy
was constitutional, since the Bakke decision allowed quotas.
was constitutional, since race was used only as a plus factor and not a quota.
was unconstitutional since race can never be a factor in admissions.
was unconstitutional since diversity in education is not a compelling state interest.
was constitutional, since race was used only as a plus factor and not a quota.
When hearing gender-related discrimination cases, the Court uses the doctrine of
absolute scrutiny.
strict scrutiny.
intermediate scrutiny.
selective scrutiny.
intermediate scrutiny.
Ten years after the Brown decision, about ____________ percent of African American school-age children in the Deep South were attending schools with whites.
1
10
25
50
1
This constitutional amendment guaranteed voting rights for African American men.
Tenth
Thirteenth
Fourteenth
Fifteenth
Fifteenth
Most of the positive actions of government associated with the civil rights issue in the United States stem from application of
the civil rights clause of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution.
the commerce clause of Article I of the U.S. Constitution.
the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 attempted to
protect African Americans from discrimination in public accommodations like hotels and theaters.
protect African Americans against disenfranchisement in the voting booth.
expand the protections of the Fourteenth Amendment to recent Asian immigrants.
restore the lost civil rights for former Confederate soldiers and sympathizers.
protect African Americans from discrimination in public accommodations like hotels and theaters.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is enforced by
the Supreme Court.
the Surgeon General of the United States.
state-level law enforcement agencies.
the Department of Justice.
the Department of Justice.
discrimination
the use of any unreasonable and unjust criterion of exclusion.
civil rights
obligation imposed on government to take positive action to protect citizens from any illegal action of government agencies and of other private citizens.
Thirteenth Amendment
one of three Civil War amendments; it abolished slavery.
Fourteenth Amendment
one of three Civil War amendments; it guaranteed equal protection and due process
Fifteenth Amendment
one of three Civil War amendments; it guaranteed voting rights for African American men.
Jim Crow laws
laws enacted by southern states following Reconstruction that discriminated against African Americans.
“separate but equal” rule
doctrine that public accommodations could be segregated by race but still be considered equal.
Brown v. Board of Education
the 1954 Supreme Court decision that struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine as fundamentally unequal. This case eliminated state power to use race as a criterion of discrimination in law and provided the national government with the power to intervene by exercising strict regulatory policies against discriminatory actions.
strict scrutiny
a test used by the Supreme Court in racial discrimination cases and other cases involving civil liberties and civil rights that places the burden of proof on the government rather than on the challengers to show that the law in question is constitutional.
de jure
literally, “by law”; refers to legally enforced practices, such as school segregation in the South before the 1960s.
de facto
literally, “by fact”; refers to practices that occur even when there is no legal enforcement, such as school segregation in much of the United States today
gerrymandering
the apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one racial or ethnic group or political party.
redlining
a practice in which banks refuse to make loans to people living in certain geographic locations
affirmative action
government policies or programs that seek to redress past injustices against specified groups by making special efforts to provide members of those groups with access to educational and employment opportunities.
equal protection clause
provision of the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing citizens “the equal protection of the laws.”
Americans have been more concerned with ensuring economic ____________ than with promoting economic ____________
democracy; liberty.
equality; liberty.
democracy; equality.
liberty; equality.
liberty; equality.
When was the last year that the U.S. government ran a budget surplus?
1964
1984
1997
2000
2000
Which of the following approaches for coping with global warming seeks to directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
mitigation
deregulation
alternative technologies
adaptation
mitigation
Republicans in Congress opposed the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 because
it had too many regulations attached to the bailouts.
they opposed the supply-side economic strategy contained in the bill.
they saw it as wasteful spending.
it contained too many tax cuts.
they saw it as wasteful spending.
In the past few decades, discretionary spending as a percentage of the budget has declined significantly. This means that
the government is less able to use fiscal policy to counteract fluctuations in the business cycle.
the government is more able to use fiscal policy to counteract fluctuations in the business cycle.
the government is less able to use monetary policy to counteract fluctuations in the business cycle.
the government is more able to use monetary policy to counteract fluctuations in the business cycle.
the government is less able to use fiscal policy to counteract fluctuations in the business cycle.
Congress approved a $700 billion emergency bailout of financial institutions in October 2008. This bailout is known as
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
the Emergency Financial Stability Act.
the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
the Wall Street Recovery Act.
the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
When private corporations are required to be equal opportunity employers in order to receive government contracts, the government is
creating an unfunded mandate.
using reward and punishment to secure private-sector obedience.
distributing grants-in-aid.
practicing so-called coercive federalism.
using reward and punishment to secure private-sector obedience.
Someone who believes in laissez-faire economics would most likely favor
government regulation of business but no government fiscal policy.
government protection of private property with few other government regulations.
strong protections to favor equality.
strong antitrust regulations and a progressive tax structure.
government protection of private property with few other government regulations.
In terms of economic policy, monetarists believe that the government should
use subsidies to reduce unemployment.
use its tax powers to control recession.
use its spending powers to control inflation.
focus on regulating the money supply.
focus on regulating the money supply.
Fiscal techniques of control concern
government microeconomic policies.
government taxing and spending powers.
the Federal Reserve System.
government regulation of the money supply.
government taxing and spending powers.
Government involvement to regulate the business cycles was the idea of
Adam Smith.
John Maynard Keynes.
Milton Friedman.
Paul Samuelson.
John Maynard Keynes.
In 2001, President Bush and Congress cut taxes significantly. Because of this and the cost of the Iraq war, the United States now has
large surpluses.
large deficits.
low levels of mandatory spending.
high levels of mandatory spending.
large deficits.
Monetary policy seeks to influence the economy through
taxing and spending.
the availability of credit and money.
foreign exchange of currency.
administrative regulation.
the availability of credit and money.
The interest rate the Federal Reserve System charges member banks is called
the commercial interest rate.
best-rate quote.
the discount rate.
the market leverage rate.
the discount rate.
Monetary policy is handled largely by
Congress.
the president.
the Department of the Treasury.
the Federal Reserve System.
the Federal Reserve System.
A consistent increase in the general level of prices is called
price stabilization.
macroeconomic policy.
microeconomic theory.
inflation.
inflation.
Which event first prompted Americans to expect an active role for the federal government in the economy?
the Great Depression of the 1930s
World War II
the economic crisis of the 1970s
the Great Recession of 2008
the Great Depression of the 1930s
The most powerful actors in influencing economic policy today are
labor unions.
consumer groups.
corporations.
professional economists.
corporations.
The theories of which economist was used to help justify the increase in government spending during the New Deal?
Adam Smith
Milton Friedman
Alan Greenspan
John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes
The government provides public goods, such as roads, because
individuals could not afford to build them privately.
the government is always much more efficient than the private sector.
it is against the law for private companies to build roads.
there has never been a successful highway built with private money.
individuals could not afford to build them privately.
A proponent of supply-side economics would probably agree with which of the following economic policies?
tax break to all Americans to create productive workers and induce personal investments
lowering of interest rates to encourage economic growth
program of government spending to jump-start the economy
hands-off approach by government to allow market forces to foster growth and innovation
tax break to all Americans to create productive workers and induce personal investments
In general, ____________ stress the importance of economic freedom for maintaining a healthy economy, whereas ____________ are often more willing to support economic regulation to attain social or environmental objectives.
Republicans; Democrats
the majority party; the minority party
Democrats; Republicans
the minority party; the majority party
Republicans; Democrats
If citizens who earn less than $13,000 a year pay 10.9 percent of their income in taxes, and those with incomes over $229,000 pay 4.1 percent, this would be an example of
a progressive tax policy.
a regressive tax policy.
a flat tax policy.
the cost of regulation.
a regressive tax policy.
If Senator Winfrey believed that the best way for the government to respond to the recession is to pump up the economy with tax cuts and spending, she would be considered
a monetarist.
laissez-faire.
a Keynesian.
a socialist.
a Keynesian.
____________ are simply government grants of cash or other valuable commodities.
Subsidies
Regulations
Regulatory taxation
Foreign exchanges
Subsidies
Although the primary purpose of the graduated income tax is to raise revenue, an important secondary objective is to collect revenue in such a way as to reduce the disparities of wealth between the lowest and the highest income brackets. We call this
a policy of redistribution.
microeconomic theory.
Pareto optimality.
economic pluralism.
a policy of redistribution.
According to the textbook, what arose from the unprecedented prosperity of the 1960s?
a middle class
a laissez-faire attitude toward business
social regulation
labor laws
social regulation
____________ are goods that are provided by the government because they either are not supplied by the market or are not supplied in sufficient quantities.
Private goods
Public goods
Monopolistic goods
Communalistic goods
Public goods
In general, when the Federal Reserve Board raises interest rates,
the economy slows down.
it does so to increase the rate of inflation.
borrowing for investment and consumption is encouraged.
economic growth increases more rapidly.
the economy slows down.
The ____________ is the index of the total output of goods and services produced in the economy.
inflation rate
interest rate
consumer price index
gross domestic product
gross domestic product
The chairperson of the Federal Reserve Board is
Leon Panetta.
Alice Rivlan.
David Stockton.
Ben Bernanke.
Ben Bernanke.
Economic inequality in the United States
has improved in recent years.
has worsened in recent years.
has remained about the same in recent years.
is much better today than in the 1970s.
has worsened in recent years.
Which is true regarding income distribution and growth in the last twenty-five years?
Both the rich and the poor have seen large income gains.
Both the rich and the poor have seen large income gains as a percentage of their incomes, but since the rich are so much richer, their gains are much larger in dollar amounts.
Incomes for the poor have fallen significantly, while incomes for the rich have risen dramatically.
The poor have seen little income growth, while income for the rich has grown dramatically.
The poor have seen little income growth, while income for the rich has grown dramatically.
Which of the following is a proposed consequence of global warming?
re-freezing of the polar ice caps
lower sea levels
milder weather
disease
disease
In 2003, Congress and President Bush added what new benefit to Medicare?
prescription drugs
long-term disability
full coverage for hospital stays
short-term disability
prescription drugs
Which is a 1974 program that augments benefits for the aged, blind, and disabled?
Supplemental Security Income
Medicaid
food stamps
Medicare
Supplemental Security Income
The social welfare system in the United States
has been an integral part of U.S. society since its inception.
is a private system run by churches and other religious groups.
became public after private groups were unable to handle the Great Depression.
consists mostly of welfare and Aid to Families with Dependent Children.
became public after private groups were unable to handle the Great Depression.
The “shadow welfare state” refers to
the illegal market for prescription drugs.
Americans who seek medical care in Canada.
employer-provided benefits like health insurance and pensions.
the inability of undocumented workers to access public benefits.
employer-provided benefits like health insurance and pensions.
Liberals tend to believe that economic success is
greater in America than in Europe.
due to laissez-faire policies.
not equally available to all Americans.
based solely on an individual’s abilities.
not equally available to all Americans.
According to the Social Security Administration, it won’t be able to pay out full benefits to retirees starting in the year _______.
2010
2028
2036
2052
2036
Which group is the most likely to be poor?
the elderly
children under 18
people between the ages of 25 and 50
divorced men
children under 18
Which two government programs assist the working poor?
Social Security and TANF
Social Security and Medicaid
Earned Income Tax Credit and food stamps
food stamps and TANF
Earned Income Tax Credit and food stamps
According to the authors of the textbook, when we study social policies from a group perspective, we can see that the elderly and the middle class receive the ____________ benefits from the government’s social policies and that children and the working poor receive the _____________ benefits.
most; fewest
fewest; most
positive; negative
active; passive
most; fewest
Which of the following is not aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty?
drug policies
education policies
employment training programs
health policies
drug policies
According to the authors of the textbook, the most important single force in the distribution and redistribution of opportunity in the United States is
family status.
income.
education.
gender.
education.
Most of the education of the American people is provided by
the national government.
state and local governments.
private schools.
charter schools.
state and local governments.
Since welfare reform was enacted in 1996, the number of people on welfare has
dropped by about 10 percent.
dropped by more than half.
stayed about the same.
increased by 15 percent.
dropped by more than half.
The freedom to use whatever talents and wealth one has to reach one’s fullest potential is the definition of
liberty.
freedom.
democracy.
equality of opportunity.
equality of opportunity.
With respect to government public welfare assistance, by 1933 the question was
whether there was to be a public welfare system.
whether we should keep the Social Security program.
how generous or restrictive the system was going to be.
whether to convert to socialism.
how generous or restrictive the system was going to be.
A procedure that requires applicants to show a financial need for assistance is the definition of
means testing.
determining eligibility.
poverty.
red tape.
means testing.
A program that provides extended medical services to all low-income persons who have already established eligibility through means testing under TANF is
Medicare.
Medicaid.
Medihealth.
Medihelp.
Medicaid.
The primary source of cash assistance for the nonworking poor is
Social Security.
Supplemental Security Income.
TANF.
food stamps.
TANF.
To pay for Social Security and Medicare, the government automatically withholds _____ percent of the first $106,800 of earnings for Social Security and _____ percent of all earnings for Medicare.
5; 5
- 2; 1.45
- 9; 3.9
- 9; 5.8
6.2; 1.45
Entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare account for
a small percentage of the federal budget.
the vast majority of the federal budget.
more than half of the federal budget.
about 25 percent of the federal budget.
more than half of the federal budget.
Which of the following are examples of contributory welfare programs?
Social Security and Medicare
Medicare and TANF
food stamps and TANF
Social Security and Medicaid
Social Security and Medicare
The most important national education policies were developed
in the late 1800s.
just after the Revolution of 1776.
in response to World War I.
after World War II.
after World War II.
Under which president was comprehensive health care reform passed?
Lyndon Johnson
Bill Clinton
George W. Bush
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Noncash goods and services that would otherwise have to be paid for in cash by the beneficiary is the definition of
grants-in-aid.
Medicare.
Social Security.
in-kind benefits.
in-kind benefits.
An example of a tax expenditure is
Social Security.
the ability to deduct mortgage-interest payments from federal taxable income.
education spending.
Medicaid.
the ability to deduct mortgage-interest payments from federal taxable income.
The Supreme Court case Goldberg v. Kelly held that
government benefits cannot be taken away without due process of law.
the beneficiary had a “right” to government benefits.
people cannot be entitled to receive government benefits.
the regressive nature of Social Security taxes was unconstitutional.
government benefits cannot be taken away without due process of law.
In 1996, President Clinton signed a law reforming the welfare system. This law
put time limits on how long a person could receive government aid.
created a lifetime limit of ten years.
imposed new education requirements.
expanded Medicaid benefits for those working full-time but who still fell below the poverty line.
put time limits on how long a person could receive government aid.
Entitlements account for _____________ percent of the total federal budget.
25
37
46
61
61
Health care policy is an important topic to many Americans and public officials since, in 2010, approximately _____ percent of nonelderly Americans received health insurance through their employers.
10
20
60
85
60
Which is the only advanced industrial nation without universal access to health care?
Canada
The United States
Mexico
Great Britain
The United States
The _____ created stronger federal requirements for testing and school accountability, requiring that every child in grades three through eight be tested yearly for proficiency in math and reading.
No Child Left Behind Act
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
National Defense Education Act
Nation at Risk Education Reform Act
No Child Left Behind Act
Funds to pay for the growth in social programs like Social Security and Medicaid has come disproportionately from
payroll taxes.
corporate taxes.
user fees.
consumption taxes.
payroll taxes
efforts to regulate the economy through the manipulation of the supply of money and credit.
monetary policy
a system of 12 Federal Reserve banks that facilitates exchanges of cash, checks, and credit; regulates member banks; and uses monetary policies to fight inflation and deflation. (page 655)
Federal Reserve System
the amount of liquid assets and ready cash that banks are required to hold to meet depositors’ demands for their money. (page 656)
reserve requirement
taxation that hits upper income brackets more heavily. (page 657)
progressive taxation
taxation that hits lower income brackets more heavily. (page 657)
regressive taxation
a policy of reducing or eliminating regulatory restraints on the conduct of individuals or private institutions. (page 664)
deregulation
an economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately owned and operated for profit with minimal or no government interference. (page 672
)laissez-faire capitalism
followers of the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes, who argued that the government can stimulate the economy by increasing public spending or by cutting taxes. (page 673)
Keynesians
followers of economic theories that contend that the role of the government in the economy should be limited to regulating the supply of money. (page 673)
monetarists
social programs financed in whole or in part by taxation or other mandatory contributions by their present or future recipients. (page 694)
contributory programs
a contributory welfare program into which working Americans contribute a percentage of their wages and from which they receive cash benefits after retirement. (page 694)
Social Security
a form of national health insurance for the elderly and the disabled. (page 694)
Medicare
periodic process of adjusting social benefits or wages to account for increases in the cost of living. (page 694)
indexing
changes made to the level of benefits of a government program based on the rate of inflation. (page 694)
cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs)
social programs that provide assistance to people on the basis of demonstrated need rather than any contribution they have made. (page 694)
noncontributory programs
a procedure by which potential beneficiaries of a public-assistance program establish their eligibility by demonstrating a genuine need for the assistance. (page 694)
means testing
a federally and state-financed, state-operated program providing medical services to low-income people. (page 696)
Medicaid
the largest anti-poverty program, which provides recipients with a debit card for food at most grocery stores; formerly known as food stamps. (page 696)
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
amount by which government spending exceeds government revenue in a fiscal year. (page 660)
budget deficit
the amount that government spending exceeds the government’s revenue in any year. (page 677)
national debt
