Term
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Definition
| Policies that provide benefits to individuals, either through entitlements or means testing |
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Term
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Definition
| Government benefits that certain qualified individuals are entitled to by law, regardless of need |
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Term
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Definition
| Government programs available only to individuals who qualify for them based on specific needs |
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Term
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Definition
| The "shares" of the national income earned by various groups |
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Term
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Definition
| The amount of funds collected between any two points in time |
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Term
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Definition
| The value of assets owned |
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Term
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Definition
| A method used to count the number of poor people, it considers what a family must spend for an "austere" standard of living |
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Term
Feminization of Poverty
p.574 |
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Definition
| the increasing concentration of poverty among women, especially unmarried woman and their children |
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Term
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Definition
| A tax by which the government takes a greater share of the income of the rich than the income of the poor. |
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Term
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Definition
| A tax by which the government takes the same share of income from everyone, rich and poor alike |
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Term
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Definition
| A tax in which the burden falls relatively more heavily on low-income groups than ot the wealthy taxpayers. The opposite of a progressive tax |
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Term
Earned Income Tax Credit
p.575 |
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Definition
| A "negative income tax" that provides income to very poor individuals in lieu of charging them federal income taxes |
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Term
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Definition
| Benefits given by the government directly to individuals. Transfer payments may be either cash transfers or in-kind transfers ex. Social security vs. food stamps |
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Term
Social Security Act of 1935
p.577 |
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Definition
| created both the Social Security program and a national assistance programs for poor children, usually called AFDC |
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Term
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
p.578 |
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Definition
| The official name of the welfare reforms law of 1996 |
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Term
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Definition
| the movement of people to another country with the intention of remaining there |
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Term
Social Security Trust Fund
p.585 |
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Definition
| The "bank account" into which Social Security contributions are "deposited" and used to pay out eligible recipients |
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Term
Health Maintenance Organization
p.599 |
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Definition
| organization contracted by individuals or insurance companies to provide health care for a yearly fee. Such network health plans limit the choice of doctors and treatments. About 60% of Americans are enrolled in health maintenance organizations or similar programs |
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Term
National Health Insurance
p.601 |
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Definition
| A compulsory insurance program for all Americans that would have the government finance citizens' medical care. First proposed by President Harry S. Truman, the plan was soundly opposed by the American Medical Association |
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Term
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Definition
| A program added to the Social Security System in 1965 that provides hospitalization insurance for the elderly and permits older Americans to purchase inexpensive coverage for doctor fees and other medical expenses |
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Term
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Definition
| A public assistance program designed to provide healthcare for poor Americans. Medicaid is funded by both the states and the national government |
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Term
Environmental Protection Agency
p.607 |
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Definition
| An agency of the federal government created in 1970 that administers much of US environmental protection policy. It is the largest federal independent regulatory agency |
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Term
Clean Air Act of 1970
p.607 |
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Definition
| the law aimed at combating air pollution |
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Term
Water Pollution Control Act of 1972
p.607 |
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Definition
| a law intended to clean up the nations rivers and lakes. It requires municipal, industrial, and other polluters to use pollution control technology and secure permits from the Environmental Protection Agency for discharging waste products into water |
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Term
Endangered Species Act of 1973
p.608 |
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Definition
| The law requires the federal government to protect actively each of the hundreds of species listed as endangered-regardless of the economic effect on the surrounding towns and regions |
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Term
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Definition
| A fund created by congress in 1980 to clean up hazardous waste sites. Money for the fund comes from taxing chemical products |
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Term
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Definition
| Also known as "The Greenhouse Effect" which occurs when energy from the sun is trapped under the atmosphere and warms the Earth. It results primarily from the burning of fossil fuels- mainly coal and oil. 1/3 comes from the deforestation of trees capable of absorbing pollutants, mainly Carbon Dioxide |
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Term
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Definition
| Created in 1945, an organization whose members agree to renounce war and respect certain human and economic freedoms. The seat of real power in the united States is the Security Council |
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Term
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Definition
| A transformational government composed of most European nations that coordinates monetary, trade, immigration, and labor policies, making its members one economic unit |
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Term
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Definition
| A special tax added to imported goods to raise the price, thereby protecting businesses and workers from foreign competition |
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Term
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Definition
| the head of the Department of State and traditionally a key adviser to the president on foreign policy |
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Term
Strategic Defense Initiative
p.634 |
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Definition
| Renamed "Star Wars" by critics, a plan for defense against the Soviet Unions unveiled by President Reagan in 1983. the strategic defense initiative would create a global umbrella in space, using computers to scan the skies and high-tech devices to destroy invading missiles |
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Term
Containment Doctrine
p.631 |
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Definition
| A foreign policy strategy advocated by George Kennan that called for the US to isolate the Soviet Union, "contain" its advances, and resist its encroachments by peaceful means if possible but by force of necessary |
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Term
Joint Chiefs of Staff
p.627 |
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Definition
| the commanding officers of the armed services who advise the president on military policy |
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Term
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Definition
| An agency created after WWII to coordinate American Intelligence activities abroad. IT became involved in intrigue, conspiracy, and meddling as well |
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Term
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Definition
| A tense relationship beginning in the 1950's between the Soviet Union and the US whereby one side's weaponry became the other side's goad to procure more weaponry, and so on |
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Term
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Definition
| A slow transformation from the conflict thinking to cooperative thinking in foreign policy strategy and policy making. It sought a relaxation of tensions between the superpowers, coupled with form guarantees of mutual security |
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Term
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Definition
| The ration of what is paid for imports to what is earned from exports. When more is imported than exported, there is a balance-of-trade deficit |
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Term
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Definition
| An economic system in which individuals and corporations, not the government, own the principal means of production and seek profits |
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Term
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Definition
| An economic system in which the government is deeply involved in economic decisions though its role as regulator, consumer, subsidizer, taxer, employer, and borrower |
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Term
Securities and Exchange Commission
p.549 |
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Definition
| The federal agency created during the New Deal that regulates the stock market |
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Term
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Definition
| The legal minimum hourly wage for large employers |
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Term
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Definition
| An organization of workers intended to engage in collective bargaining |
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Term
Collective Bargaining
p.550 |
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Definition
| Negotiations between representatives of labor unions and management to determine pay and acceptable working conditions |
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Term
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Definition
| As measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the proportion of the labor force actively seeking work but unable to find jobs |
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Term
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Definition
| The rise in prices for consumer goods |
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Term
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Definition
| The principle that government should not meddle in the economy |
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Term
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Definition
| Based on monetarism, monetary policy is the manipulation of the supply of money in private hands by which the government can control the economy |
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Term
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Definition
| An economic theory holding that the supply of money is the key to a nation's economic health. Monetarists believe that to much cash and credit in circulation produces inflation |
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Term
Federal Reserve System
p.555 |
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Definition
| The main instrument for making monetary policy in the US. It was created by congress in 1913 to regulate the lending practices of banks and thus the money supply |
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Term
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Definition
| The policy that describes the impact of the federal budget-taxes, spending, and borrowing- on the economy. fiscal policy is almost entirely determined by congress and the president, who are the budget makers |
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Term
Keynesian Economic Theory
p.556 |
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Definition
| the theory emphasizing that government spending and deficits can help the economy weather its normal ups and downs. Proponents of this theory advocate using the power of government to stimulate the economy when its lagging. |
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Term
Supply-side Economics
p.556 |
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Definition
| an economic theory advocated by President Reagan holding that too much income goes to taxed so that too little money is available for purchasing and that the solution is to cut taxes and return purchasing power to consumers |
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Term
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Definition
| Economic Policy of shielding an economy from imports |
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Term
World Trade Organization
p.559 |
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Definition
| International organization that regulates international trade |
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Term
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Definition
| A policy designed to ensure competitions and prevent monopoly, which is the control of a market by one company |
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Term
Food and Drug Administration
p.561 |
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Definition
| the federal agency formed in 1913 and assigned the task of approving all food products and drugs sold in the US. All drugs, with the exception of tobacco, must have FDA authorization |
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