Income Inequality and Poverty

According to the data for the U.S. in 2008 presented in Chapter 20, what was the approximate annual family income threshold for the top fifth of the population?

What is the poverty rate?

Which of the following is NOT listed in Chapter 20 as a problem that arises in measuring the degree of inequality?

The political philosophy that believes the government should choose policies to maximize the total happiness of everyone in society is known as:

John Rawls's theory of liberalism suggests that public policies should be designed as if by an impartial observer behind a:

Which of the following policies to reduce poverty is most likely to cause an increase in unemployment among the least skilled workers?

In 2008, what was the poverty rate for families headed by a female adult with no spouse present, according to Table 3?

The utilitarian case for redistributing income is based on what assumption?

How much income did the top 5 percent of U.S. families receive in 2008 as a percentage of total income?

The regular pattern of income variation over a person's life, peaking around age 50 and falling at retirement, is called:

Which political philosophy argues that the government should punish crimes and enforce voluntary agreements but not redistribute income?

A negative income tax is a tax system that:

What is the 'maximin criterion'?

According to the example of a negative income tax formula, Taxes owed equals (1/3 of income) - $10,000, how much would a family that earned $15,000 owe?

What is a primary criticism of antipoverty programs that create high effective marginal tax rates for the poor?

Between 1970 and 2008, what trend in U.S. income distribution does Table 2 show?

The 'leaky bucket' analogy is used to illustrate a problem with which political philosophy?

What was the official poverty rate in the U.S. for 2008?

Which of the following is an example of an in-kind transfer?

Why do utilitarians reject complete equalization of incomes?

In the Rawlsian thought experiment, what is the purpose of the 'veil of ignorance'?

In 2008, the poverty line for a family of four was approximately:

According to Robert Nozick's libertarian philosophy, when is it appropriate for the government to intervene in the distribution of income?

According to studies cited in Chapter 20, what percentage of U.S. millionaires made their money on their own rather than inheriting it?

Which of the following is an argument in favor of in-kind transfers over cash payments to the poor?

In 2008, the top fifth of U.S. families had about how many times as much income as the bottom fifth?

According to the international comparison in Figure 1, which country has the most equal distribution of income?

Since the early 1970s, what has happened to the U.S. poverty rate?

What does it mean for a family's living standard to depend more on 'permanent income' than 'annual income'?

According to the study by Cox and Alm, when correcting for taxes and household size, the consumption per person in the richest fifth of U.S. households was how many times greater than in the poorest fifth?

Which of the following groups has the highest poverty rate in the U.S. as of 2008?

A policy of 'workfare' is designed to address what problem with antipoverty programs?

When the government enacts policies to make the distribution of income more equal, it faces a trade-off because these policies can:

If a father earns 20 percent above his generation’s average income, the chapter suggests his son will most likely earn:

The poverty line is set by the federal government at roughly:

From a libertarian perspective, which of the following government actions would be considered unjust?

What is the primary trade-off that policymakers face when deciding how gradually to phase out benefits for antipoverty programs as income rises?

Compared to other economically advanced countries like Japan and Germany, the United States has:

Why would a study of consumption inequality likely show less disparity than a study of income inequality?

Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher, concluded that in an ideal society, the income of the richest person should be no more than how many times the income of the poorest person?

What is a common criticism of welfare programs like TANF?

The 1996 welfare reform bill addressed the problem of work disincentives primarily by:

Which of the three political philosophies of redistribution would be most likely to support a policy of equal incomes for all citizens?

According to the chapter, why has income inequality in the U.S. increased in recent decades?

If a government introduces a negative income tax with the formula: Taxes owed equals (1/3 of income) - $10,000, what is the break-even level of income where a family owes nothing?

How do utilitarians and liberals (in the Rawlsian sense) differ in their approach to income redistribution?

In 2008, the median family income in the U.S. was $61,521. This means that:

The failure to include in-kind transfers in income statistics has what effect on the measured poverty rate?

Which of the following poverty rates for racial groups in the U.S. was the highest in 2008?

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is an actual U.S. policy that functions most like which theoretical policy?