Lesson 8 Quiz

Question 1

An economic system in which all or most of the means of production are privately owned under competitive conditions is referred to as _________________.

Answer 1

capitalism

Question 2

Which of the following is true of the policymaking process?

Answer 2

Congress and the president are most directly involved in the recognition, formulation, and adoption stages when media attention is most intense.
b.
The influence of Congress and the president is limited by the practical need to delegate administrative details to agencies with the expertise and resources to handle such matters.
c.
Courts may play a role in ensuring that all proper procedures are followed in the formulation of policy and in interpreting rules and regulations.

Question 3

The amount of money a government agency will actually spend during a fiscal year is called ________________.

Answer 3

outlays

Question 4

Which of the following best describes a tariff?

Answer 4

a tax levied on imports

Question 5

Medicare is a Federal program that provides health insurance for the ____________.

Answer 5

elderly

Question 6

Which of the following is a purpose of the federal budget?

Answer 6

It details how the government expects to raise money.
c.
It manages and implements the fiscal policy.
d.
It creates a comprehensive plan laying out what the government will spend for various programs.
e.
It sets priorities for the government.

Question 7

When the amount of money spent by the government exceeds what it collects in taxes and other revenue in a single year, it is referred to as a _______________________.

Answer 7

budget deficit

Question 8

What was the purpose of The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921?

Answer 8

make the president formally responsible for initially formulating the national budget

Question 9

The most widely utilized indicator of the overall condition of the stock market on any given day is the _______________.

Answer 9

Dow Jones Industrial Average

Question 10

How are housing starts, or new construction, used to gauge the national economy?

Answer 10

Declines in housing starts are often one of the first signs of an approaching economic downturn.

Question 11

What is an economic theory that is based on the principle that government should increase spending when economic times are bad as a way of raising total demand?

Answer 11

Keynesian economics

Question 12

Which of the following is a primary argument by supporters of the current system of American health care in which most patients secure health care insurance on their own?

Answer 12

This system allows more choice in doctors and facilities than citizens in most other parts of the world.

Question 13

Which of the following statements about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is correct?

Answer 13

It was amended a week later by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act./
It expanded Medicaid.
d.
It penalizes most citizens who do not obtain health care insurance.
e.
The main federal legislation for this act was passed in 2010.

Question 14

Which of the following is a governing body of the United Nations?

Answer 14

Security Council
c. 
General Assembly
d. 
Economic and Social Council
e. 
Secretariat

Question 15

Which of the following was true of the U. S. policy toward Israel?

Answer 15

The United States has been committed to its support for Israel as a political haven for the Jews./ U. S. officials have been forced to confront the dilemma of what to do with uprooted Palestinian refugees.
d.
U. S. support for Israel has assured the United States a friendly ally in the Middle East.
e.
Israel has emerged as a modernized democratic presence in a region dominated by countries largely hostile to the West.

Question 16

Currently, defense spending makes up about what percentage of the overall U.S. budget?

Answer 16

20%

Question 17

Which of the following serves the purpose of maintaining the value of foreign currencies during times of crisis?

Answer 17

The International Monetary Fund

Question 18

Though the CIA still functions as an intelligence gathering agency, in recent years there have been concerns that the CIA is poorly suited to coordinate intelligence coming from multiple parts of government. How was this concern addressed in 2004?

Answer 18

A new position, Director of National Intelligence, was created.

Question 19

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in 2002. Which of the following federal agencies is subordinate to this department?

Answer 19

U.S. coast guard
c. 
U.S. border patrol
d. 
federal emergency management agency
e. 
U.S. secret service

Question 20

Which agency plays a critical role in helping formulate and implement U.S. foreign policy by managing the nation’s military?

Answer 20

DoD

Question 21

What term is used to encompass all of a nation’s activities that are directed at conducting relations with other countries, including military operations and diplomatic activities?

Answer 21

foreign policy

Question 22

Which of the following refers to the doctrine of increasing the territory or economic influence of one’s own country?

Answer 22

expansionism

Question 23

What was an American foreign policy following World War II that restricted Soviet power and resisted efforts to expand communism?

Answer 23

containment

Question 24

Though President Wilson was instrumental in creation of the League of Nations following World War I, the United States never joined the League. Why?

Answer 24

The U.S. Senate rejected Wilson’s recommendation to adopt the treaty and returned the nation to an era of isolationism.

Question 25

The United States was involved in plots to assassinate which of the following foreign leaders?

Answer 25

Patrice Lumumba, Prime Minister of the Congo/ Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda leader
d.
Rafael Trujillo, Dominican Republic leader
e.
Fidel Castro, Cuban communist leader