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| 1 | |
Milton Friedman, who believes that profits are the only business of business, maintains that: |
| | A) | businesses should obey their stockholders. |
| | B) | profits should be held to reasonable levels. |
| | C) | businesses should break laws if it raises their profits. |
| | D) | businesses should not decide what is socially responsible. |
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| 2 | |
Robert Almeder, who does not believe that profits are the only business of business, asserts that: |
| | A) | overregulation of business is dangerous. |
| | B) | corporate managers will never "do the right thing." |
| | C) | only regulation will keep businesses in line. |
| | D) | all businesses should follow the same moral code. |
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| 3 | |
Economic theory holds that an individual's income should be based on: |
| | A) | education. |
| | B) | seniority. |
| | C) | supply and demand in the profession. |
| | D) | performance. |
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| 4 | |
One of the most visible manifestations of the controversy over compensation in the financial sector was the lawsuit brought by then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer over the earnings of the head of: |
| | A) | Lehman Brothers. |
| | B) | the New York Stock Exchange. |
| | C) | Bear Stearns. |
| | D) | Goldman Sachs. |
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| 5 | |
The Federal Election Commission (FEC), which was created in 1975, is charged with all of the following duties except: |
| | A) | performing background checks on candidates for federal office. |
| | B) | disclosing campaign-finance information. |
| | C) | enforcing legal provisions regarding contributions. |
| | D) | overseeing the public funding of presidential elections. |
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| 6 | |
Mary G. Wilson from the League of Women Voters argues that voters need information about the sources of funding for the charges and countercharges made during election campaigns as this is a means for them to: |
| | A) | identify other supporters of their candidate of choice. |
| | B) | become involved in funding campaigns. |
| | C) | evaluate the accuracy of statements. |
| | D) | confirm the fairness of elections. |
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| 7 | |
Much of the debate over whether the United States should continue drilling offshore for oil has arisen as a result of: |
| | A) | increasing oil and gasoline prices. |
| | B) | instability in the Middle East. |
| | C) | concerns over global warming. |
| | D) | the explosion of a drilling rig. |
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| 8 | |
The first argument put forth in support of offshore oil drilling is that this activity will: |
| | A) | lead to energy independence for the United States. |
| | B) | support expansion and investment in other energy fields as well. |
| | C) | distance the United States from international environmental debates. |
| | D) | encourage foreign investment in the United States. |
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| 9 | |
The American Benefits Council, which believes that HSAs are working effectively, identifies itself as a national trade association representing principally: |
| | A) | Fortune 500 companies. |
| | B) | small, well-established companies. |
| | C) | the blue-collar labor force. |
| | D) | the medical and pharmaceutical industries. |
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| 10 | |
Linda J. Blumberg, who does not believe that HSAs are working effectively, quotes Paul Ginsburg when she establishes the premise that effective comparison of healthcare services on price occurs only in the context of: |
| | A) | non-emergency care. |
| | B) | services that are not complex. |
| | C) | when an appropriate diagnosis has already been made. |
| | D) | all of the above. |
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| 11 | |
The proposed merger of Comcast with NBC Universal will first require the approval of the Federal Communications Commission and the: |
| | A) | Treasury Department. |
| | B) | Commerce Department. |
| | C) | Securities and Exchange Commission. |
| | D) | Department of Justice. |
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| 12 | |
Comcast's early growth was based on: |
| | A) | entering markets that had lacked cable-television service. |
| | B) | the acquisition of other cable operators. |
| | C) | developing new channels for premium service. |
| | D) | acquiring network broadcast stations. |
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| 13 | |
The greatest percentage of healthcare costs in the United States is paid for by: |
| | A) | businesses. |
| | B) | households. |
| | C) | private sponsors. |
| | D) | governments. |
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| 14 | |
Kathryn Nix, in arguing that Obamacare will be a disaster, points out that the Congressional Budget Office is required to estimate the costs of legislative proposals based on: |
| | A) | the most likely Congressional behavior. |
| | B) | assumptions about the future behavior of Congress. |
| | C) | a continuing strong economy. |
| | D) | current domestic and world political conditions. |
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| 15 | |
Proposed limits on Medicare payments to control costs under the new healthcare-reform legislation are likely to be offset by: |
| | A) | new advances in medical technology. |
| | B) | increased life expectancy. |
| | C) | plans to expand Medicare coverage to more individuals. |
| | D) | new requirements for preventive care. |
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| 16 | |
For many decades, Atul Gawande maintains, the great flaw in the U.S. healthcare system was its: |
| | A) | lack of regulation. |
| | B) | huge gaps in coverage. |
| | C) | redundancies in diagnosis and treatment. |
| | D) | lack of reliable statistics regarding effectiveness of treatment. |
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| 17 | |
Josh Bivens, who believes that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 did create jobs, tells us that the primary tool that national policymakers use to fight recessions is the: |
| | A) | stabilization of long-term interest rates. |
| | B) | lowering of short-term interest rates. |
| | C) | capping of government salaries. |
| | D) | principle of diminishing returns. |
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| 18 | |
Veronique de Rugy, who believes that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 did not create jobs, points out that long-term unemployment is: |
| | A) | an unlikely condition for most Americans. |
| | B) | not reliably predictable. |
| | C) | feared more in the United States than anywhere else in the world. |
| | D) | higher now than in any previous recession. |
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| 19 | |
Janis Bowdler, who believes that American consumers need a financial protection agency, points out that issuers of subprime mortgage and credit frequently targeted minority communities as fertile ground for expansion, often: |
| | A) | with the sole objective of eventually foreclosing. |
| | B) | in direct violation of the law. |
| | C) | as a complement of prime products. |
| | D) | as a replacement of prime products. |
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| 20 | |
Bill Himpler, who does not believe that American consumers need a financial protection agency, notes that many of the proposed revisions for the CFPA focus on: |
| | A) | small business owners. |
| | B) | foreclosures. |
| | C) | nonbanks. |
| | D) | banks. |
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| 21 | |
According to MacKenzie, when minimum wages go up, employers are forced to dismiss low-productivity workers, a policy that has the most negative effect on those with the least: |
| | A) | education. |
| | B) | job experience. |
| | C) | maturity. |
| | D) | all of the above |
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| 22 | |
Wicks-Lim says it is difficult to report on the actual consequences to employers in the wake of wage laws' ripple effects because: |
| | A) | employers are reluctant to admit that they feel no adverse consequences. |
| | B) | research on ripple effects has been sparse. |
| | C) | wage laws have been enacted only once since 1938. |
| | D) | ripple effects are essentially imaginary. |
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| 23 | |
The George W. Bush White House, which believes that immigration benefits the economy, tells us that a simple and frequently cited metric of natives' total gains from immigration is known as the: |
| | A) | foreigner factor. |
| | B) | non-native quotient. |
| | C) | native-born net. |
| | D) | immigration surplus. |
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| 24 | |
Steven A. Camarota, who does not believe that immigration benefits the economy, wants us to understand that an increase in the size of the economy: |
| | A) | is not, by itself, a benefit to the entire population. |
| | B) | benefits everyone in the population, to varying degrees. |
| | C) | would have to represent extraordinary growth before any benefit would be appreciable. |
| | D) | is a purely subjective concept. |
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| 25 | |
Joseph E. Stiglitz, who believes that a fair-trade policy is superior to a free-trade policy, explains that among the impediments to expanding exports are internal barriers to trade, such as the absence of infrastructure, which highlights the need for: |
| | A) | developing countries to open up their markets to foreign banks. |
| | B) | trade liberalization. |
| | C) | subsidized imports. |
| | D) | aid-for-trade. |
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| 26 | |
Gary Hufbauer, who does not believe that a fair-trade policy is superior to a free-trade policy, identifies certain trade issues as the most important items on the new U.S. president's agenda, including the ratification of pending free-trade agreements with: |
| | A) | Indonesia and Afghanistan. |
| | B) | Malaysia and Colombia. |
| | C) | North Korea and the Dominican Republic. |
| | D) | South Korea and Panama. |
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| 27 | |
David G. Kittle, who believes that loan mitigation is the answer to the housing foreclosure problem, identifies the only winner in a property foreclosure as: |
| | A) | the lender. |
| | B) | the servicer. |
| | C) | the borrower. |
| | D) | no one. |
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| 28 | |
Julia Gordon, who does not believe that loan mitigation is the answer to the housing foreclosure problem, speaks in favor of a temporary deferment plan that provides a much-needed "timeout" to enable lenders and servicers to increase their capacities to meet current need, for credit markets to stabilize, and for legislative solutions. Specifically, this is the plan defined by the: |
| | A) | Emergency Home Ownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act. |
| | B) | Home Retention and Economic Stabilization Act. |
| | C) | Foreclosure Prevention and Sound Mortgage Servicing Act. |
| | D) | Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. |
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| 29 | |
Bob Dinneen, who believes that biofuels like ethanol reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, points out that the ethanol industry is moving toward cleaner energy use and is reducing its: |
| | A) | overall waste ratio. |
| | B) | water consumption. |
| | C) | carbon dioxide emissions. |
| | D) | operating costs. |
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| 30 | |
Charles T. Drevna, who does not believe that biofuels like ethanol reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, argues that, if every gallon of biofuels is mandated, there is no: |
| | A) | future for mass transportation. |
| | B) | incentive for the American carmaker. |
| | C) | foreign trade. |
| | D) | free market. |
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| 31 | |
Chris Edwards, who believes that U.S. deficit and debt problems can be solved without increases in taxes, casts the blame for "the deep fiscal hole we are in" on: |
| | A) | both parties. |
| | B) | the Old Democrats. |
| | C) | the New Republicans. |
| | D) | Ronald Reagan. |
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| 32 | |
Robert Greenstein and Jim Horney, who do not believe that U.S. deficit and debt problems can be solved without increases in taxes, are of the opinion that the president's goal of stabilizing the ratio of debt held by the public to GDP by 2015 is: |
| | A) | a bad objective. |
| | B) | a classic example of political grandstanding. |
| | C) | the right goal. |
| | D) | an impossible dream. |
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| 33 | |
Jack W. Shilling, who believes that China's currency is undervalued and that the United States should take action to correct this undervaluation, points out that there is a broad consensus that: |
| | A) | the United States should terminate trade relations with China. |
| | B) | China's currency is deliberately and illegally misaligned. |
| | C) | the RMB is substantially undervalued. |
| | D) | the RMB may be undervalued. |
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| 34 | |
Daniel J. Ikenson, who believes that, even if China's currency is undervalued, the United States should not take action to correct it, contends that nobody can know the true value of the RMB: |
| | A) | because China has no desire for it to be assimilated into the world economy. |
| | B) | because of its constant and rapid fluctuation. |
| | C) | until it is frozen by an international (not just American) directive. |
| | D) | until it is allowed to float freely and restrictions on China's capital account are removed. |
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| 35 | |
George Miller, who believes that the testing and accountability elements of the No Child Left Behind Act prevent a proper cost-benefit evaluation, maintains that no factor matters more to children's educational success than the quality of their: |
| | A) | community. |
| | B) | teachers. |
| | C) | home life. |
| | D) | school facility. |
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| 36 | |
Raymond Simon, who does not believe that the testing and accountability elements of the No Child Left Behind Act prevent a proper cost-benefit evaluation, provides some background information with his discussion of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and its 1994 reauthorization, known as the: |
| | A) | Improving America's Schools Act. |
| | B) | Educator Roundtable. |
| | C) | Public Education Reform. |
| | D) | National Commission on Excellence in Education. |
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| 37 | |
James M. Cypher, who believes that the inequality in U.S. income distribution is surging, sets forth the premise that U.S. corporations and their wealthy owners had the means, the motive, and the opportunity to rake in a larger share of the nation's income—and they did so, beginning in the |
| | A) | 1920s. |
| | B) | 1940s. |
| | C) | 1970s |
| | D) | 1990s. |
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| 38 | |
Diana Furchtgott-Roth, who does not believe that the inequality in U.S. income distribution is surging, maintains that consumption spending generally has fewer fluctuations than: |
| | A) | income. |
| | B) | investment spending. |
| | C) | debt management. |
| | D) | taxation. |
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