Term
|
Definition
| public plans or courses of action that concern issues of national importance, such as poverty, crime, and the environment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a transfer of income from some individuals in the economy to other individuals. This is generally done by way of the government. It is a transfer in the sense that no current services are rendered by the recipients |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a good or service - such as food stamps, housing, or medical care - provided by the government to lower-income groups |
|
|
Term
| temporary assistance to needy families (tanf) |
|
Definition
| a state-administered program in which grants from the national government are given to the states, which use the funds to provide assistance to those eligible to receive welfare benefits. The program was created by the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 and replaced the former AFDC program |
|
|
Term
| supplemental security income (SSI) |
|
Definition
| a federal program established to provide assistance to elderly persons and disabled persons |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| coupons issued by the federal government to low-income individuals to be used for the purchase of food |
|
|
Term
| earned-incom tax credit (EITC) program |
|
Definition
| a government program that helps low-income workers by giving back part or all of their Social Security taxes |
|
|
Term
| environmental impact statement (EIS) |
|
Definition
| as a requirement mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act, a report that must show the costs and benefits of major federal actions that could significantly affect the quality of the environment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the cost to the nation of undertaking any one policy in terms of all of the other policies that could have been undertaken. For example, an increase in the expenditures on one federal program means either a reduction in expenditures on another program or an increase in federal taxes (or the deficit) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| for every action on the part of government, there is a reaction on the part of the affected public. Then the government attempts to counter the reaction with another action, which starts the cycle all over again |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a legal method by which individuals and businesses are allowed to reduce the tax liablilities owed to the government |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a tax system in which tax rates go down as income goes up |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the use of changes in government spending or taxation to alter national economic variables, such as the rate of unemployment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the use of changes in the amount of money in circulation to alter credit markets, employment, and at the rate of inflation |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| an economist theory, named after English economist John Naynard Keynes, that gained prominence during the Great Depression of the 1930s. It is typically associated with the use of fiscal policy to alter national economic variables - for example, increased government spending during times of economic downturns |
|
|
Term
| federal open market committee (FOMC) |
|
Definition
| the most important body within the Federal Reserve System. The FOMC decides how monetary policy should be carried out by the Federal Reserve System |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| evidence of debt issues by the federal government; similar to corporate bonds but issued by the U.S. Treasury |
|
|
Term
| pulic debt or national debt |
|
Definition
| the total amount of debt carried by the federal government |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the government's spending more than it receives in taxes and paying for the difference by issuing U.S. Treasury bonds, thereby adding to the public debt |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
