gov. policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling taxing and spending
monetary policy
gov. policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling the money supply and interest rates
tariff
tax on imports to protect industries, labor, and farmers from foreign competition/raise revenue
excise tax
consumer tax on a specific kind of merchandise
progressive tax
people with higher incomes pay a larger fraction of their income than people with lower incomes
regressive tax
people with lower incomes pay a higher fraction of their income than people with higher incomes
deficit
difference between revenues raised annually and the amount spent including paying the interest on past borrowing
debt
accumulated total of federal deficits, minus surpluses, over the years
GDP
gross domestic product: estimate of total output of all economic activity in the nation, icluding goods and services
OMB
Office of Management and Budget: Presidential staff agency that serves a a clearing house for budgetary requests and management improvements
sales tax
general tax on sale transactions (sometimes exempts food and drugs)
CBO
agency of congress that analyzes residential budget recommendations and estimates the cost of proposed legislation
tax expenditures
loss of tax revenue due to federal tax laws that provide special tax incentives or benefits to individuals or businesses
GAO
General Accounting Office: independent investigative arm of Congress that checks on reciept and disbursement of public funds and reviews the performance of gov. agencies
laissez-faire economics
theory that opposes gov. interference in the economy beyond what is necessary to protect life and property
keynesian economics
theory that gov. spending should increase during business slumps and be curbed during booms
trade deficit
imbalance in international trade in which the value of imports exceeds the value of exports
WTO
World Trade Organization: international org. derived from GATT; promotes free trade around the world
GATT
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade: international trade org. that seeks to encourage free trade by lowering tariffs and other trade restictions
NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement: agreement between US, Canada, and Mexico to form largest free trade zone in the world
protectionism
policy of creating trade barriers to protect domestic industry
independent regulatory agency
gov. agency responsible for enforcing particular statutes; exits outside the three branches of gov.
deregulation
policy that promotes cutbacks in amount of federal gov. by returning many functions to the states
