Chapter Sixteen: Domestic Policy - Practice Questions Flashcards
(15 cards)
What is an example of a public policy outcome?
a) the creation of a program to combat drug trafficking
b) the passage of the Affordable Care Act
c) the passage of tax cuts during the George W. Bush administration
d) all of the above
a) the creation of a program to combat drug trafficking
b) the passage of the Affordable Care Act
c) the passage of tax cuts during the George W. Bush administration
Public policy ___.
a) is more of a theory than a reality
b) is typically made by one branch of government acting alone
c) requires multiple actors and branches to carry out
d) focuses on only a few special individuals
c) requires multiple actors and branches to carry out
- Is a guide to legislative action that is more or less fixed for long periods of time, not just short-terms fixes or single legislative acts.
- Most policy outcomes are the result of considerable debate, compromise, and refinement that happen over years and are finalized only after input from multiple institutions within government as well as from interest groups and the public.
What are some of the challenged to getting a new public policy considered and passed as laws?
approval of a new policy requires the government to recognize that a problem needs solving, and the approval of the elected branches of government
Toll goods differ from public goods in that ___.
a) they provide special access to some and not all
b) they require the payment of a fee up front
c) they provide a service for only the wealthy
d) they are free and available to all
b) they require the payment of a fee up front
- They are paid for or provided by some outside (nongovernment) entity.
Which type of policy directly benefits the most citizens?
a) regulatory policy
b) distributive policy
c) redistributive policy
d) self-regulatory policy
b) distributive policy
- The policy category tends to collect payments or resources from many but concentrates direct benefits in relatively few.
- Distributive policy is common when society feels there is a social benefit to individuals obtaining private goods, such as higher education, that offer long-term benefits, but the upfront cost may be too high for the average citizen.
Of the types of good introduced in this section, which do you feel is the most important to the public generally and why? Which public polices are most important and why?
Social Security and Medicare are notable for their assistance to which group?
a) the poor
b) young families starting out
c) those in urban areas
d) the elderly
d) the elderly
Setting aside Social Security and Medicare, other entitlement programs in the U.S. government ___.
a) constitute over half the budget
b) constitute well under one-quarter of the budget
c) are paid for by the states will no cost to the Federal Government
b) constitute well under one-quater of the budget
What societal ills are social welfare programs designed to address?
need-based programs exist to provide at least a minimal standard of living for those in dire straits and to provide opportunities to improve their fate in life
Which stage of the public policy process includes identification of problems in need of fixing?
a) agenda setting
b) enactment
c) implementation
d) evaluation
d) evaluation
Policy analysts seek ___.
a) evidence
b) their chosen outputs
c) influence
d) money
a) evidence
In the implementation phase of the policy process, is it better to use a top-down approach or a bottom-up approach on Federal policies? Why?
A deficit is ___.
a) the overall amount owed by government for past borrowing
b) the annual budget shortfall between revenues and expenditures
c) the cancellation of an entitlement program
b) the annual budget shortfall between revenues and expenditures
Entitlement (or mandatory) spending is ___.
a) formula-based spending that goes to individual citizens
b) a program of contracts to aerospace companies
c) focused on children
d) concentrated on education
a) formula-based spending that goes to individual citizens
When times are tough economically, what can the government do to get the economy moving again?
a keynesian appraoch would recommend deficit spending to stimulate the economy
supply-sde economists would advocate cutting taxes to get more money flowing in the economy
