Soc 125 Final Exam

Question 1

positive v normative

Answer 1

Positive: how things are
Normative: how things ought to be

Question 2

what has happened to income growth in the us?

Answer 2

until 2014, poor and middle class saw largest income growth now its very affluent

Question 3

who saw an increase in income (elephant chart)

Answer 3

rising incomes in china and india

booming global elites

Question 4

who saw an increase in income (elephant chart)

Answer 4

poorest are out of all growth

developed world middle class

Question 5

what is a liberal democracy?

Answer 5

• government power transferred by voters
• citizens have rights to protect from government intrusion

Question 6

what does the law of supply and demand state?

Answer 6

supply and demand will converge at a given price point

Question 7

Pareto optimality

Answer 7

society is efficient and resources cannot be allocated to make someone better off without making someone else worse off

Question 8

what does a classical liberal believe states should do?

Answer 8

• security
• infrastructure, education, and sanitation
• ensure competition and limit negative externalities

Question 9

classical liberal views on what a state should not do

Answer 9

• create anti-poverty programs
• fund higher education
• set employer contracts

Question 10

free market ideal

Answer 10

perfect information
costs reflected in prices
no transaction costs
no state interference
motivated by maximizing personal wealth

Question 11

negative vs positive freedom

Answer 11

freedom from
- market is good at this
freedom to
- generates great inequalities

Question 12

moral argument

Answer 12

market capitalism promotes freedom

Question 13

pragmatic argument

Answer 13

market capitalism promotes social efficiency and wealth creation

Question 14

Market failures

Answer 14

allocation of goods is not efficient; market cannot produce optimal outcomes

Question 15

Market imperfections

Answer 15

real-world markets deviate from market ideals
- lack of information
- monopoly

Question 16

positive externality

Answer 16

consumption or production of a good benefits more than just them

Question 17

negative externality

Answer 17

production or consumption of a good impacts more than one group

Question 18

short time horizon

Answer 18

firms only care about profit maximization now causing harm to future generations

Question 19

sucker pentality

Answer 19

difference between your outcome depending on what the other person picks

Question 20

conditional altruism

Answer 20

people are not selfish they just economically rationalize personal gain

Question 21

opportunity cost

Answer 21

what you lost by doing something else

Question 22

discount rate

Answer 22

rate which economic significance declines over time

Question 23

what is the moral hazard problem?

Answer 23

there is no incentive to worry about cost because the bill is paid for

Question 24

Glass Steagall Act

Answer 24

after GD:
- seperated investment banking from commercial banking
- FDIC creation

Question 25

gramm-leach-biley

Answer 25

repealed glass stegal to allow for great efficiency and competitiveness

Question 26

iron law of urban decay

Answer 26

cities will deteriorate overtime - middle class flees and the tax base erodes causing poverty concentrations

Question 27

What gini coefficient value corresponds with perfect equality of income distribution?

Answer 27

0

Question 28

What economic class percentage has the most wealth?

Answer 28

top 20%; bottom 40% has so little wealth they do not show up on the chart

Question 29

when is an inequality unjust?

Answer 29

unfair and something can be done to fix it

Question 30

what are the argument types of rhetoric of reaction?

Answer 30

futility- wont have any impact perversity- will make things worse jeopardy- will threaten something else of value

Question 31

what are the misleading plans for reform?

Answer 31

synergy- elements will work positively together imminent danger- we must do something to prevent catastrope right side of history- progress is baked into social forces

Question 32

Fair play vs fair share

Answer 32

Fair play: equal playing field Directed towards future not past Fair share: resources equally reallocated

Question 33

normative arguements for inequality

Answer 33

fairness

Question 34

pragmatic argument for unjust inequality

Answer 34

greater the inequality, people work harder and benefit from it

Question 35

oppression vs exploitation

Answer 35

oppression: inverse interdependency and inequality exclusion Exploitation: appropriation principle

Question 36

inverse interdependent welfare

Answer 36

material well-being of one group is inversely related to material deprivations of another

Question 37

inequality exclusion principle

Answer 37

excluding a disadvantaged group from resources controlled by advantaged group

Question 38

appropriation principle

Answer 38

advantaged groups control of the labor effort and wealth generated by the disadvantaged group

Question 39

what is the poverty level?

Answer 39

3x cost of minimal diet

Question 40

how is poverty defined elsewhere?

Answer 40

less than 50% of median income

Question 41

poverty gap

Answer 41

% difference between mean income of the poor and poverty line

Question 42

how did TANF impact families recieving welfare benefits

Answer 42

decreased the number recieving

Question 43

What are the two forms of welfare spending?

Answer 43

Direct government spending: ie food stamps Tax expenditures: mortgage deductions, tax deductions

Question 44

what is the difference between means tested and universal programs

Answer 44

means tested: person only benefits if they fall below a level of income universal programs: everyone benefits regardless of income

Question 45

pragmatic arguments against BIG

Answer 45

too many people will stop working for pay taxes to pay for big will be to high so no incentive to work

Question 46

Second class citizenship

Answer 46

giving different categories of people different rights on the basis of an undesired attribute

Question 47

semi-free labor

Answer 47

labor market which non-citizens are not given rights and protections

Question 48

13th amendment

Answer 48

abolished slavery

Question 49

14th amendment

Answer 49

all citizens have equal rights

Question 50

15th amendment

Answer 50

allowed voting

Question 51

when did US incarceration rates increase?

Answer 51

1980

Question 52

how have white and black wealth increases differed?

Answer 52

since 1960 black wealth has almost not changed where as white wealth has dramatically increased

Question 53

how has black and white wealth gap changed?

Answer 53

roughly the same from 1968

Question 54

how have black americans median income changed

Answer 54

decreased from 200

Question 55

how has black homeownership changed?

Answer 55

beginning to retreat

Question 56

how many black adults are currently employed

Answer 56

fewer than half

Question 57

how much parental leave do people receive in the US?

Answer 57

0

Question 58

what is womens first and second choice for family dynamic?

Answer 58

First: egalitarian Second: self-reliant

Question 59

what is mens first and second choice for family dynamic?

Answer 59

First: egalitarian Second: neo-traditional

Question 60

what are status inequalities

Answer 60

inequalities due to personal attributes

Question 61

capitalist free market economy

Answer 61

prices set by supply and demand,

Question 62

pragmatic argument for inequality

Answer 62

poor people will be worse off because wealthy people invest and stimulate the economy

Question 63

pragmatic argument against inequality

Answer 63

materials are concentrated to the rich erodes sense of community and trust

Question 64

what happened to union density in 1950

Answer 64

decreased