Programs that provide benefits to individuals regardless of need. Social Security and Medicare are an examples.
What are entitlement programs?
100
A tax that is scaled for income (i.e. the rich pay more than the poor).
What is a progressive tax?
100
The income threshold below which an individual is considered impoverished.
What is the poverty line?
100
This president declared a "War on Poverty"
Who is L.B. Johnson?
100
Under whose presidency and in what year was Social Security first established?
Franklin D. Roosevelt; 1935.
200
Programs that provide benefits only to people with specific need. Medicaid and food stamps are examples.
What are means-tested programs?
200
A tax that charges the same amount regardless of income.
What is a proportional tax?
200
The chance of suddenly falling into a much lower income bracket. This is higher in the US than in most other developed nations.
What is economic insecurity?
200
Johnson most famously added this program to his "welfare" policies.
What are food stamps?
200
What is the "account" into which Social Security employee and employer contributions are "deposited" and used to pay out eligible recipients?
What is the S.S. Trust Fund?
300
This describes how the national income is divided up and tells us what share of the national wealth goes to each income group.
What is income distribution?
300
A tax that takes a higher percentage from the poor than the rich.
What is a regressive tax?
300
The trend of increasing concentration of poverty among women, especially unmarried women with children.
What is the feminization of poverty?
300
This president drastically cut welfare benefits.
Who is Ronald Reagan?
300
Why will Social Security likely never be reformed until it fails?
Because it would offend old people--who vote often...
400
When people believe they are not doing well financially compared to some reference group.
What is relative deprivation?
400
Name the most common regressive tax.
What is the sales tax?
400
True or False: The amount of people below the poverty line is usually overestimated by the government.
False
400
During Clinton's presidency, the name "welfare" was changed to this.
What is Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)?
400
Describe how Social Security would fail?
Too many retirees+too few works=disaster!
500
Describe the difference between INCOME and WEALTH.
Income: the amount of money collected between two points in time.
Wealth: the value of one's assets (stocks, bonds, bank accounts, cars, houses, etc.).
500
A special tax benefit for working people who earn low incomes.
What is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)?
500
Who determines the poverty line?
What is the U.S. Census Bureau?
500
This bill provided that (1) each state would receive a fixed amount to run its welfare programs,(2) people on welfare would have to find work within 2 years, and (3) there would be a lifetime maximum of 5 years to receive benefits.
What is the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PWORA)?
500
TRIPLE TRUE OR FALSE:
Welfare decreases the size of government.
The US has generous welfare benefits.
Race never had an impact on poverty.