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US Government
Chapters 17-18
52
Other
12th Grade
04/07/2010

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Term
public policy
Definition
A general plan of action adopted by the government to solve a social problem, counter a threat, or pursue an objective.
Term
distributive policies
Definition
Government policies designed to confer a benefit on a particular institution or group.
Term
redistributional policies
Definition
Policies that take government resources, such as tax funds, from one sector of society and transfer them to another.
Term
regulation
Definition
Government intervention in the workings of a business market to promote some socially desired goal.
Term
agenda setting
Definition
The stage of the policymaking process during which problems get defined as political issues.
Term
issue definition
Definition
Our conception of the problem at hand.
Term
policy formulation
Definition
The stage of the policymaking process during which formal proposals are developed and adopted.
Term
implementation
Definition
The process of putting specific policies into operation.
Term
policy evaluation
Definition
Analysis of a public policy so as to determine how well it is working.
Term
feedback
Definition
Information received by policymakers about the effectiveness of public policy.
Term
fragmentation
Definition
In policymaking, the phenomenon of attacking a single problem in different and sometimes competing ways.
Term
issue network
Definition
A shared-knowledge group consisting of representatives of various interests involved in some particular aspect of public policy.
Term
nonprofits
Definition
Organizations that are not part of government or business and cannot distribute profits to shareholders or to anyone else.
Term
economic depression
Definition
A period of high unemployment and business failures; a severe, long-lasting downturn in a business cycle.
Term
inflation
Definition
An economic condition characterized by price increases linked to a decrease in the value of the currency.
Term
business cycles
Definition
Expansions and contractions of business activity, the first accompanies by inflation and the second by unemployment.
Term
aggregate demand
Definition
The money available to be spent for goods and services by consumers, businesses, and government.
Term
productive capacity
Definition
The total value of goods and services that can be produced when the economy works at full capacity.
Term
gross domestic product (GDP)
Definition
The total value of the goods and services produced by a country during a year.
Term
Keynesian theory
Definition
An economic theory stating that the government can stabilize the economy--that is, can smooth business cycles--by controlling the level of aggregate demand, and that the level of aggregate demand can be controlled by means of fiscal and monetary policies.
Term
fiscal policies
Definition
Economic policies that involve government spending and taxing.
Term
monetary policies
Definition
Economic policies that involve control of, and changes in, the supply of money.
Term
deficit financing
Definition
The Keynesian technique of spending beyond government income to combat an economic slump. Its purpose is to inject extra money into the economy to stimulate aggregate demand.
Term
Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)
Definition
A group that works within the executive branch to provide advice on maintaining a stable economy.
Term
monetarists
Definition
Those who argue that government can effectively control the performance of an economy only by controlling the supply of money.
Term
Federal Reserve System
Definition
The system of banks that acts as the central bank of the United States and controls major monetary policies.
Term
supply-side economics
Definition
Economic policies aimed at increasing the supply of goods (as opposed to decreasing demand); consist mainly of tax cuts for possible investors and less regulation of business.
Term
fiscal year
Definition
The twelve-month period from October 1 to September 30 used by the government for accounting purposes. A fiscal year budget is named for the year in which it ends.
Term
budget authority
Definition
The amounts that government agencies are authorized to spend for current and future programs.
Term
budget outlays
Definition
The amounts that government agencies are expected to spend in the fiscal year.
Term
budget outlays
Definition
The amounts that government agencies are expected to spend in the fiscal year.
Term
receipts
Definition
For a government, the amount expected or obtained in taxes and other revenues.
Term
public debt
Definition
The accumulated sum of past government borrowing owed to lenders outside the government.
Term
Office of Management and Budget
Definition
The budgeting arm of the Executive Office; prepares the president's budget.
Term
tax committees
Definition
The two committees of Congress responsible for raising the revenue with which to run the government.
Term
authorization committees
Definition
Committees of Congress that can authorize spending in their particular areas of responsibility.
Term
appropriations committees
Definition
Committees of Congress that decide which of the programs passed by the authorization committees will actually be funded.
Term
budget committees
Definition
One committee in each house of Congress that supervises a comprehensive budget review process.
Term
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Definition
The budgeting arm of Congress, which prepares alternative budgets to those prepared by the president's OMB.
Term
Gramm-Rudman
Definition
Popular name for an act passed by Congress in 1985 that, in its original form, sought to lower the national deficit to a specified level each year, culminating in a balanced budget in FY 1991. New reforms and deficit targets were agreed on in 1990.
Term
Budget Enforcement Act (BEA)
Definition
A 1990 law that distinguished between mandatory and discretionary spending.
Term
mandatory spending
Definition
In the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, expenditures required by previous commitments.
Term
discretionary spending
Definition
In the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, authorized expenditures from annual appropriations.
Term
entitlements
Definition
Benefits to which every eligible person has a legal right and that the government cannot deny.
Term
pay-as-you-go
Definition
In the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, the requirement that any tax cut or expansion of an entitlement program must be offset by a tax increase or other savings.
Term
Balanced Budget Act (BBA)
Definition
A 1997 law that promised to balance the budget by 2002.
Term
progressive taxation
Definition
A system of taxation whereby the rich pay proportionately higher taxes than the poor; used by governments to redistribute wealth and thus promote equality.
Term
incremental budgeting
Definition
A method of budget making that involved adding new funds (an increment) onto the amount previously budgeted (in last year's budget).
Term
earmark
Definition
Federal funds appropriated by Congress for use on local projects.
Term
discretionary outlays
Definition
Payments made by legislators' choice and based on annual appropriations.
Term
mandatory outlays
Definition
Payments that government must make by law.
Term
transfer payment
Definition
A payment by government to an individual, mainly through Social Security or unemployment insurance.
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