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Key Terms Test 3
ch5,14,17-20
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| AFFIRMATIVE ACTION | Policies that give special attention or treatment to people from a disadvantaged group; seek equal results |
| AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT | Law that denied federal funds to any institution that discriminates against people over 40 (later expanded to 70) due to age |
| AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT | Law that requires employers and public facilities to make "reasonable accommodations" for people with disabilities |
| CIVIL RIGHTS | Policies designed to protect people from arbitrary discrimination by the government |
| CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 | Law that forbids racial discrimination in motels, hotels, restaurants, and in many jobs |
| COMPARABLE WORTH | Issue raised when women who hold traditionally female jobs are paid less than men who work jobs requiring similar skills |
| DE FACTO LAW | Policy indirectly produced by a separate law or policy |
| DE JURE LAW | Policy implemented through law |
| EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION | Agency created by the Civil Rights Act of 1965 to ensure fair hiring practices |
| EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE | Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that requires all laws provide protection to all people without unnecessary discrimination. |
| EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT | Failed constitutional amendment that would have outlawed discrimination based on gender |
| GRANDFATHER CLAUSES/POLL TAXES/WHITE PRIMARIES/LITERACY TESTS | Methods used by southern states to legally deny blacks the vote; all were eventually outlawed. |
| MEDIUM OF SECURITY | Method used by the courts for defining gender bias; distinctions must have a "exceedingly persuasive justification." |
| MINORITY MAJORTY DISTRICTING | Gerrymandering with the goal of creating districts dominated by minorities; struck down by Supreme Court |
| SEXUAL HARASSMENT | Actions defined by the Court as so pervasive as to create a hostile or abusive work environment and is a form of gender discrimination banned by the Civil Rights Act |
| STANDARDS OF REVIEW | Criteria established by the courts for evaluating equal protection of the laws |
| TITLE IX | Part of the Education Act of 1972, banned discrimination in federally subsidized education programs including sports at both secondary and collegiate levels |
| VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965 | Law that lowered barriers, such as literacy tests, that prevented blacks from voting during the Civil rights movement |
| WOMEN'S EQUITY IN EMPLOYMENT ACT | Law that require employers to prove that promotions were based on merit and not gender. |
| APPROPRIATIONS BILL | Type of bill that allocates the funds necessary to carry out authorization bills; usually last one year |
| AUTHORIZATION BILL | Bill that establishes, continues, or changes a discretionary program in order to meet the budget resolution |
| BUDGET RESOLUTION | An agreement that prohibits Congress from spending more than a set amount while making the budget |
| CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET AND IMPOUNDMENT CONTROL ACT | Law that established a budget making calendar, Congressional budget committees, and the Congressional Budget Office; made Congress stronger in the budget process |
| CONTINUING RESOLUTION | Resolution for when Congress cannot meet budgetary goals, agencies are allowed to spend at the level of the previous year |
| DEFICIT | Result of government spending more than it makes in revenue for a given budget year |
| DISCRETIONARY SPENDING | Government expenditures (mostly on bureaucratic agencies) that can be adjusted from year to year. |
| EMERGENCY DEFICIT CONTROL ACT | Law that lasted from 1985 to 1990, established deficit limits for future budgets in order to balance the budget by 1993; was a failure |
| FISCAL POLICY | Policies pertaining to taxing and spending |
| INCREMENTALISM | Belief that a new budget should be the same as the last budget, plus a little more |
| NATIONAL DEBT | The long term accumulation of budget deficits. |
| NON-DISCRETIONARY SPENDING | Government expenditures that by law must be met, regardless of financial situation (e.g., entitlements) |
| RECONCILIATION | Process where last minute adjustments to spending bills occur to meet the budget resolution |
| SLUSH FUND | Money appropriated for certain purposes, but is instead used by government officials for for their questionable purposes. |
| TAX CREDITS | Revenue losses resulting from legal exemptions, exclusions, or deductions from one's tax return. |
| TAX LOOPHOLES | Name given to ways taxpayers can pay less in taxes buy cheating or circumventing requirements. |
| TAX REFORM ACT OF 1986 | Legislation that eliminated many tax deductions, removed the tax burden from the poor, and reduced the number of tax brackets |
| ANTI TRUST POLICY | Policies designed to ensure competition by breaking up monopolies |
| BALANCE OF TRADE | Ratio of what is paid for imports to what is paid for exports. |
| FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM | Federal bank system that regulates the flow of money to commercial banks and sets interest rates |
| INFLATION | the systemic rise in prices for goods, usually caused by currency printing; measured the Consumer Price Index |
| KEYNESIAN ECONOMICS | Belief that during economic downturns, the government can create demand through spending programs and tax credits |
| MIXED ECONOMY | Economic system which is largely free market, but involves government regulation |
| MONETARY POLICY | Policies involving the money supply, inflation, jobs, and markets. |
| MULTINATIONALS | Type of corporations that have assets in many countries |
| PROTECTIONISM | Policy that calls for preventing consumers from buying foreign goods in order to strengthen domestic businesses |
| SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION | Federal agency that oversees the stock market and guards against stock fraud |
| SUPPLY SIDE ECONOMICS | Monetary policy insisting the government can create supply by cutting taxes for business to stimulate the economy |
| UNEMPLOYMENT RATE | The proportion of the labor force actively seeking employment, but is unable to find it. |
| EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT | Tax policy that redistributes income to the poor instead of charging them income tax |
| ENTITLEMENTS | Name for social programs that benefit certain individuals who meet certain requirements, regardless of need. |
| FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY | Name for the increasing concentration of poverty among women, especially single mothers and their children. |
| IN KIND BENEFITS | Non-cash entitlements to people from the government (e.g., food stamps) |
| INCOME | The amount of money one receives for wages or salary in a given amount of time |
| MEANS TESTED PROGRAMS | Entitlements available to individuals near or below the poverty line (e.g., Medicaid). |
| MEDICAID | A shared entitlement between the federal government and the states that sponsors health care for the poor |
| MEDICARE | Government entitlement that sponsors health care for the elderly |
| PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND WORK OPPORTUNITY ACT | Law that reformed welfare in 1996; limited the amount of benefits one could receive; created TANF. |
| POVERTY LINE | Defines the amount of income necessary to maintain an "austere" standard of living; used to count the number of poor people |
| PROGRESSIVE TAX | Tax policy where the rich pay a higher percentage of income taxes than the poor; used to redistribute wealth |
| PROPORTIONAL TAX | Tax policy where all classes pay the same percentage of income taxes; also known as a "flat" tax |
| REGRESSIVE TAX | Tax policy where the poor pay a higher percentage in taxes than the rich (e.g., sales tax or any flat number rather than percentage) |
| SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST FUND | The investment fund from which Social Security payments are paid |
| SOCIAL WELFARE | Policies that provide monetary benefits to individuals |
| TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF) | Welfare program through PRWORA that gives cash payments to the neediest families; replaced the old AFDC welfare program. |
| WEALTH | Value of all of one's assets, including income, investments, and possessions. |
| WEALTH REDISTRIBUTION | Government policy of using taxation or other measures to take wealth the wealthy and give it to others. |
| CAP AND TRADE | Policy that allows businesses to produce a certain amount of pollution; beyond that, they must borrow credits or pay a tax. |
| CLEAN AIR ACT | Law that called on the Department of Transportation to reduce automobile emissions. |
| ENDANGERED SPEICIES ACT | Law that requires the government to protect endangered species regardless of economic impact. |
| ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY | Bureaucratic agency that monitors pollution and toxic wastes |
| FOSSIL FUELS | Sources of nonrenewable fuels that yield emissions; include oil, coal, and natural gas |
| NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT | Law in the 2000s that denied federal grants to states that did not enforce standards; required testing to encourage teacher accountability. |
| RENEWABLE ENERGY | Sources of energy viewed as clean, such as wind and solar power. |
| SIMPSON MAZZOLI ACT | Law in 1986 that granted amnesty to illegal immigrants; banned employment of illegals and secured the border; largely a failure. |
| WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT | Legislation that attempted to clean up lakes and rivers; created pollution permit system. |
| CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY | Agency that coordinates America's spy network in the world. |
| CONTAINMENT | American foreign policy during the early Cold War that called for preventing the spread of Communism, using force if necessary. |
| DETANTE | American foreign policy late in the Cold War that called for an easing of tensions through guarantees of mutual security. |
| ECONOMIC SANCTIONS | Monetary penalties imposed on foreign governments in order to modify its social, political, or economic behavior. |
| EUROPEAN UNION | Economic alliance of European nations to coordinate trade, currency, labor, and immigration. |
| FOREIGN POLICY | Policies that deal with relations with the rest of the world, including diplomacy and military operations. |
| INTERDEPENDENCY | Theory that in the modern world, one nation's actions affect all other nations. |
| ISOLATIONISM | American foreign policy from independence to WWII; included avoiding foreign wars and the invocation of the Monroe Doctrine. |
| JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF | Body made up of heads from each of the military services and a chairman; advises and informs the president on military policy. |
| NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL | Body formed in 1947 to advise the president on national security; includes the president, vice president, secretaries of state and defense, and the president's national security advisor. |
| NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO) | Military alliance of western nations and Turkey that vows to defend all members. |
| ORGANIZATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES (OPEC) | Economic organization made up of Arab and South American countries that control the supply and price of oil. |
| STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE (aka STAR WARS) | Reagan's foreign policy that called for a system to intercept Soviet missiles; he also sought to win the arms race through massive defense spending. |
| UNITED NATIONS | Global peace keeping body with membership of most nations; monitors human rights, economic freedoms, and potential conflicts. |
Created by:
erikmurphy
Popular American Government sets