Professional Documents
Culture Documents
(Download PDF) Economics 10th Edition Slavin Test Bank Full Chapter
(Download PDF) Economics 10th Edition Slavin Test Bank Full Chapter
Bank
Go to download the full and correct content document:
https://testbankfan.com/product/economics-10th-edition-slavin-test-bank/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...
https://testbankfan.com/product/economics-11th-edition-slavin-
test-bank/
https://testbankfan.com/product/macroeconomics-10th-edition-
slavin-test-bank/
https://testbankfan.com/product/microeconomics-10th-edition-
slavin-test-bank/
https://testbankfan.com/product/economics-11th-edition-slavin-
solutions-manual/
Educational Psychology Theory and Practice 10th Edition
Slavin Test Bank
https://testbankfan.com/product/educational-psychology-theory-
and-practice-10th-edition-slavin-test-bank/
https://testbankfan.com/product/macroeconomics-11th-edition-
slavin-test-bank/
https://testbankfan.com/product/microeconomics-11th-edition-
slavin-test-bank/
https://testbankfan.com/product/economics-10th-edition-boyes-
test-bank/
https://testbankfan.com/product/economics-10th-edition-colander-
test-bank/
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
Chapter 07
The Government Sector
1. The role of government has grown tremendously over the last _____ decades.
A. four
B. six
C. eight
D. ten
4. Federal spending on defense comes to about _____ per person in the United States.
A. $1,000
B. $1,900
C. $2,700
D. $3,500
7-1
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
7-2
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
10. The fastest growing source of federal tax revenue is the _____ tax.
A. personal income
B. corporate income
C. payroll
D. excise
12. In 2010, a person earning $300,000 would pay Social Security tax on
A. none of her income.
B. all of her income.
C. nearly all of her income.
D. less than half of her income.
13. The most important source of state tax revenue is the _____ tax.
A. property
B. income
C. excise
D. sales
7-3
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
16. Which one of these is not an economic function of the federal government?
A. Redistribution of income.
B. Stabilization.
C. Economic regulation.
D. Each is an economic function of the federal government.
17. The sales tax is the most important source of _____ government revenue.
A. federal
B. state
C. local
7-4
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
19. The maximum anyone had to pay in Social Security tax in 2009 was about ____.
A. $850
B. $6,620
C. $8,500
D. $17,000
20. Most sales taxes are ___________; most excise taxes are _________.
A. progressive, progressive
B. regressive, regressive
C. progressive, regressive
D. regressive, progressive
21. The property tax is the most important source of _____ government revenue.
A. federal
B. state
C. local
22. Under the Tax Reform Act of 1986 the maximum rate of the corporate income tax was
A. raised.
B. lowered.
C. not changed.
7-5
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
24. According to Adam Smith, each of these was an economic role of government except
A. protecting society from violence and invasion.
B. protecting individuals from oppression.
C. erecting public works which would not be in the interest of private individuals to erect.
D. redistributing some income from the rich to the poor.
7-6
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
31. Compared to people earning $150,000 a year, people earning $300,000 pay _________
Social Security taxes.
A. less
B. the same
C. slightly more
D. twice as much
7-7
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
34. The economic policy of the U.S. government could have been described as laissez-faire
until about
A. 1860.
B. 1900.
C. 1933.
D. 1945.
E. 1960.
38. Interest payments on the national debt are about _____ percent of total federal
expenditures a year.
A. 2
B. 5
C. 7
D. 11
E. 14
7-8
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
39. Which of the following statements does not apply to the U.S. tax structure?
A. The individual income tax system is progressive.
B. General sales taxes are regressive.
C. Property taxes are an important source of revenue for the federal government.
D. The major sources of revenue for the federal government differ from the major sources of
revenue for state and local governments.
40. Which of the following pairs represents the chief source of income and the most important
type of expenditure of local governments?
A. Property tax and expenditures for highways
B. Property tax and expenditures for education
C. Sales and excise taxes and expenditures for public welfare
D. Sales and excise taxes and expenditures for police, fire, and general government
41. What proportion of the federal spending is available for discretionary spending?
A. 9 percent.
B. 14 percent.
C. 23 percent.
D. 46 percent.
43. Mr. Bush earns $1,000,000 and pays $100,000 in taxes. Mr. Gore earns $150,000 and
pays $17,500 in taxes. The tax they pay would be considered
A. progressive.
B. proportional.
C. regressive.
7-9
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
44. Transfer payments to individuals amount to a little less than _____ of total government
spending.
A. three-quarters
B. two-thirds
C. half
D. one-third
E. one-quarter
45. In modern free enterprise economies, which of the following is not an economic role of
government?
A. Stabilization of national income, employment, and the price level
B. Promotion and maintenance of competitive markets
C. Altering the allocation of resources to provide for public demands efficiently
D. Providing a reasonably certain legal, social, and business environment for stable economic
growth
E. Planning the production and distribution of most economic goods
46. Which of the following accounts for the largest percentage of all federal expenditures?
A. Income security such as Social Security
B. National defense
C. Interest on the public debt
D. Veterans' services
7-10
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
50. Statement I: Social Security benefits are financed entirely by taxes that workers pay.
Statement II: Social Security benefits are a government transfer payment.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
51. The essential difference between sales and excise taxes is that
A. sales taxes apply to a wide range of products, while excise taxes apply only to a select
group of products.
B. excise taxes apply to a wide range of products, while sales taxes apply only to a select
group of products.
C. sales taxes are consumption taxes, while excise are not.
D. excise taxes are consumption taxes, while sales are not.
7-11
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
7-12
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
Statement II: The federal government gets most of its revenue from indirect taxes.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
59. During the last half of 2008 and the first half of 2009, the congress passed and the
President signed two bills totaling about _______________ in an attempt to avert the Great
Recession.
A. about $700 billion
B. about $800 billion
C. nearly $1.5 trillion
D. more than $2.0 trillion
7-13
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
60. Federal government spending on medicare & medicaid have increased by a factor of
_____ between 1969 and 2011.
A. 2
B. 4
C. 5
D. over 7
61. If your taxable income rises from $35,000 to $45,000, and the taxes you pay rise from
$12,000 to $15,000, your marginal tax rate is
A. 10 percent.
B. 20 percent.
C. 30 percent.
D. 40 percent.
E. Impossible to determine.
62. If your taxable income rises from $27,000 to $47,000, and the taxes you pay rise from
$15,000 to $20,000, your marginal tax rate is
A. 15 percent.
B. 25 percent.
C. 35 percent.
D. 45 percent.
7-14
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
64. Statement I: Most poor people have an average tax rate of 10 percent.
Statement II: In 1992 the maximum federal personal income tax rate was 31 percent.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
65. Statement I: Most Americans pay more in Social Security tax than in personal income tax.
Statement II: A tax on cigarettes is more regressive than a tax on long distance phone calls.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
66. Statement I: A progressive tax places a heavier burden on the rich than on the poor.
Statement II: The Social Security tax is more regressive than the federal personal income tax.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
67. In 2009 the highest federal personal income tax bracket was _____ percent.
A. 28
B. 35
C. 36
D. 50
E. 70
7-15
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
68. If taxable income is rising and if the marginal tax rate is greater than the average tax rate,
then
A. the average tax rate must be rising.
B. the average tax rate must be falling.
C. the average tax rate may be either rising or falling.
D. the tax is regressive.
69. In 2011 when the "Bush tax cuts" expire the percentage tax rate for the rich will revert
back to the (pre-Bush) rate of ____________ percent if congress doesn't pass a new law.
A. 36.5
B. 39.6
C. 44.0
D. 70.0
71. A progressive tax is one where the percentage charged on income ______________ as
income increases.
A. increases and then decreases
B. is constant
C. decreases
D. increases
72. Which of the following federal government expenditures is the largest burden on the
budget?
A. Social security
B. Medicare and medicaid
C. Defense
D. Interest on national debt
7-16
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
73. In 2010, anyone with an income in excess of $_____________ pays the marginal tax rate
of 35%.
A. 500,000
B. 372,950
C. 296,400
D. 198,200
74. Warren Buffett, the noted stock market investor, and world's second richest man has
noted:
A. his average tax rate is lower than his secretary.
B. his world ranking would increase substantially if taxes were lower $20,000
C. his taxes were so high that he was supporting the government by himself.
D. his wealth was very high because of the low tax rates enjoyed by the rich.
75. A person earning $200,000 a year pays a little over _____ in payroll taxes.
A. $6,000
B. $9,500
C. $12,000
D. $15,000
76. If you had $1,000 of taxable income you would have to pay _____ in federal income tax.
A. 0
B. $100
C. $150
D. Between $150 and $280
E. $280
7-17
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
77. If you had a total income of $4,000 (including wages, interest, and dividends) you would
have to pay federal personal income taxes of
A. 0.
B. Less than $600.
C. $600.
D. More than $600.
E. It is impossible to answer without more information.
81. The tax rates embodied in the federal personal income tax are such that
A. a rising absolute amount, but a declining proportion, of income is paid in taxes.
B. the marginal and average tax rates are equal, making the tax progressive.
C. the average tax rate rises more rapidly than does the marginal tax rate.
D. the marginal tax rate is higher than the average tax rate, causing the average tax rate to rise.
7-18
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
83. Sales and excise taxes tend to be ___________ because low income people tend to spend
a _________ fraction of their income than high income people.
A. progressive; larger
B. regressive; larger
C. progressive; smaller
D. regressive; smaller
7-19
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
87. The Jones family has an average tax rate of 15 percent. Its marginal tax rate is
A. less than 15 percent.
B. 15 percent.
C. more than 15 percent.
D. impossible to find.
88. In 2007, the richest 400 U. S. households earned an average income of $345 million. What
was their average income tax rate?
A. 34 percent.
B. 25 percent.
C. About 17 percent.
D. Less than 12 percent.
7-20
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
90. Which of the following is the best example of a government expenditure for goods or
services?
A. Salaries of Supreme Court justices
B. Social security pensions paid to the elderly
C. Welfare payments
D. Unemployment compensation
E. The progressive income tax
92. Which of the following statements about the Social Security tax is not true?
A. It is a progressive tax.
B. It came into existence in 1935.
C. It is imposed on employers and employees.
D. It is a payroll tax.
93. Statement I: We have faithfully followed Adam Smith's description of the government's
economic role.
Statement II: The U.S. government's role has grown smaller over the last 70 years.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-21
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
94. Statement I: The economic role of government has been growing over the last eight
decades.
Statement II: The economic role of government will definitely be reduced in the coming
years.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
95. In recent years our social and economic problems have _____ and government will get
_____ involved in solving these problems.
A. increased, more
B. increased, less
C. decreased, more
D. decreased, less
96. In 2010 Mr. Huckabee paid $500 in personal income tax. His taxable income was
A. $5,000.
B. $10,000.
C. $15,000.
D. $20,000.
97. Mr. Romney paid $300 in personal income tax. His taxable income was
A. $1,000.
B. $2,000.
C. $3,000.
D. $10,000.
7-22
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
99. Statement I: The two largest categories of federal spending are Social Security and
defense.
Statement II: The payroll tax is a more important source of revenue for the federal
government than the corporate income tax.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
101. Statement I: Federal marginal income tax brackets for the wealthy are higher today than
they were in 1980.
Statement II: The highest federal income tax bracket today is 70 percent.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-23
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
A. I and III
B. I
C. II
D. I and II
E. III
The Joneses have a taxable income of $18,000, all in the form of wages. They have three
children, and they take the standard deduction.
7-24
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
106. The Joneses pay no more than _____ in personal income tax.
A. $5,000
B. $3,000
C. $1,800
D. $750
E. $0
107. Defense is the largest single component of federal government taking ________ cents
our of every government dollar spent.
A. 13
B. 16
C. 20
D. 24
7-25
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
111. If your taxable income increases from $30,000 to $40,000, your marginal tax rate is
A. 10 percent
B. 20 percent
C. 30 percent
D. 40 percent
E. 50 percent
7-26
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
114. If your taxable income increases from $20,000 to $40,000, your marginal tax rate is
A. 5 percent.
B. 7.5 percent.
C. 10 percent.
D. 12.5 percent.
E. 15 percent.
115. If your taxable income is $30,000, how much tax would you owe?
A. $500
B. $1,000
C. $1500
D. $2,000
Statement II: The federal personal income tax is more progressive today than it was in 1980.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-27
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
120. Ralph earns $40,000 per year. According to the income tax schedule, he must pay $4,000
in income taxes this year. If he had earned $50,000 his tax liability would have been $6,000.
What marginal tax rate does Ralph face?
A. 10 percent
B. 12 percent
C. 20 percent
D. 66 percent
121. Statement I: Foreign aid is the fourth largest federal spending program.
Statement II: Most Americans pay more in Social Security taxes than in federal personal
income taxes.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
122. According to the IRS, the average large corporation in the United States paid just less
than _______ percent in 2006.
A. 34
B. 27
C. 24
D. 13
7-28
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
123. In 2010 the highest marginal tax rate for the federal personal income tax was _____
percent.
A. 28
B. 33
C. 35
D. 50
E. 70
125. The federal government gets _____ of its tax revenue from direct taxes.
A. all.
B. nearly all
C. about half
D. less than half
E. none
126. Groucho earns $5 million and pays $2 million in taxes; Harpo earns $300,000 and pays
$80,000 in taxes; Chico earns $25,000 and pays $1,000 in taxes. The tax they pay would be
considered
A. progressive.
B. proportional.
C. regressive.
127. The rich pay a _____ proportion of their income and a _____ dollar amount of federal
income tax than the middle class.
A. higher, higher
B. lower, lower
C. higher, lower
7-29
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
128. Who, from among the following, said this "In this world nothing can be said to be
certain, except death and taxes."
A. Thomas Jefferson
B. Adam Smith
C. Benjamin Franklin
D. Sir William Petty
E. John Stuart Mill
131. Statement I: Taxes for the rich were raised substantially in 1990 and 1993.
Statement II: Personal income tax rates are much lower today than they were in 1980.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-30
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
132. Statement I: Two major personal income tax cuts were passed during the administration
of President Ronald Reagan.
Statement II: The top marginal tax rate for the federal personal income tax was 70 percent in
1980.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
133. During the Clinton administration, the marginal tax rate on the rich was:
A. Decreased
B. Stayed the same
C. Increased by about 2 percent
D. Increased by over 7 percent
135. Most state revenue comes from the _____ tax and most local revenue comes from the
_____ tax.
A. property, property
B. sales, sales
C. sales, property
D. property, sales
7-31
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
136. In the United States, federal government tax receipts are somewhat less than _____
percent of GDP.
A. 10
B. 20
C. 30
D. 40
E. 50
137. Which country from the following provides its government with the same percent of its
GDP in taxes as the U.S.?
A. Germany
B. Britain
C. Italy
D. France
E. None of the choices
140. Which of the following is a true statement concerning federal transfer payments?
A. Transfer payments ultimately must be repaid to the government by recipients.
B. Transfer payments are included in the imports category of GDP.
C. Transfer payments are included in the net exports category of GDP.
D. Transfer payments are payments made by the government for which no good or service is
currently received in return.
7-32
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
7-33
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
146. Which one of these people said this? "The art of taxation consists in so plucking the
goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest amount of
hissing."
A. John Stuart Mill
B. John Maynard Keynes
C. Milton Friedman
D. Karl Marx
E. Jean Baptiste Colbert
148. After the major income tax decrease for the high income earners in 1981, the federal
deficit _______ by 1990.
A. had not changed
B. tripled
C. cut by half
D. doubled
7-34
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
152. A couple with two dependent children with a taxable income of $12,000 will
A. definitely pay some personal income tax.
B. probably pay some personal income tax.
C. pay no personal income tax.
D. There is not enough information to make any of these statements.
154. Statement I: The primary income sources of the rich are dividends, interest, and profit,
none of which is subject to the Social Security tax.
Statement II: The payroll tax is the federal government's fastest-growing source of revenue.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-35
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
155. In 2010, a married couple with one child earning $32,000 would pay $2,448.00 in
payroll tax and $__________ in federal income taxes.
A. more than $2,000
B. about $1,000
C. more than $750
D. 0
158. Who said this? "The government is best which governs least".
A. Thomas Jefferson
B. Sir William Petty
C. John Stuart Mill
D. Benjamin Franklin
E. John Maynard Keynes
159. Who, among the following, said this? "It is generally allowed by all, that men should
contribute to the public charge but according to the share and interest they have in the public
peace; that is, according to their estates or riches".
A. Benjamin Franklin
B. Sir William Petty
C. Jean Baptiste Colbert
D. Adam Smith
E. John Stuart Mill
7-36
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
160. Who said this? ". . . the sovereign has only three duties to attend to. . . . first, the duty of
protecting the society from violence and invasion . . .; secondly, the duty of protecting . . .
every member of the society from the injustice or oppression of every other member of it all;
and thirdly, the duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works and public institutions,
which it can never be for the interest of any individual . . . to erect and maintain. . . "
A. Adam Smith
B. John Stuart Mill
C. Sir William Petty
D. Franklin Roosevelt
E. Thomas Jefferson
161. Statement I: We could make the Social Security tax less regressive by lowering the
wage-base limitation to $25,000.
Statement II: The highest marginal tax rate on the federal personal income tax is 31 percent.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
162. An average tax rate of 1% on the poor and 20% on the rich would be
A. progressive.
B. proportional.
C. regressive.
163. An average tax rate of 20 percent on the poor and 1 percent on the rich would be
A. progressive.
B. proportional.
C. regressive.
7-37
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
166. In the Netherlands and Germany a gallon of gasoline costs a little over
A. $7.00.
B. $4.
C. $3.
D. $2.
169. From the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, the federal government ran a _____ and the state
and local governments ran a ____.
A. deficit, deficit
B. deficit, surplus
C. surplus, surplus
D. surplus, deficit
7-38
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
171. The top federal personal income tax bracket is now _______ percent.
A. 25
B. 35
C. 55
D. 70
E. 85
174. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have three children, earn $22,000 at their jobs, and have no other
income. We may conclude that they
A. probably pay more payroll tax than federal personal income tax.
B. definitely pay more payroll tax than federal personal income tax.
C. probably pay more federal personal income tax than payroll tax.
D. definitely pay more federal personal income tax than payroll tax.
7-39
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
175. Ms. Rockefeller has an income of $200 million. If her income is in the form of wages
and salary, then most of her income is taxed at __________ percent.
A. 15 percent
B. 27 percent
C. 30 percent
D. 35 percent
E. 38.6 percent
176. Statement I: Compared to citizens of other leading industrial countries, Americans are
overtaxed.
Statement II: We could make the payroll tax less regressive by raising the wage-base
limitation to $200,000.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
178. K – 12 public education in the U.S. is paid for mainly by the _____ tax.
A. income
B. sales
C. excise
D. property
7-40
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
180. Pei Chen has a federal personal income marginal tax rate of 28 percent. His average tax
rate
A. is more than 28%.
B. is also 28%.
C. is less than 28%.
D. is zero.
181. Mr. and Mrs. Nakama were paying $6,000 taxes on a combined taxable income of
$40,000. When they both received pay increases, they found themselves in a higher tax
bracket-28 percent. Their average tax rate
A. fell.
B. rose to 15%.
C. rose to between 15% and 28%.
D. rose to 28%.
E. rose above 28%.
182. Claire Quinn has a marginal tax rate of 33 percent on her federal personal income tax.
Her average tax rate is
A. more than 33%.
B. also 33%.
C. less than 33%.
D. zero.
7-41
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
186. In the 1950s the top marginal federal personal income tax rate was
A. 91%.
B. 70%.
C. 50%.
D. 31%.
E. 28%.
187. Statement I: The top marginal rate of the federal personal income tax is much lower
today than it was in the 1950s.
Statement II: The Social Security system will run out of money by the year 2013.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-42
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
188. Statement I: The average tax rate is found by dividing taxable income by taxes paid.
Statement II: Rich people generally pay a higher marginal tax rate than their average tax rate.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
189. Statement I: The highest marginal federal personal income tax rate is 30 percent.
Statement II: The marginal tax rate is found by dividing additional taxes paid by additional
taxable income.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-43
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
192. The Tea party in the United States in 2009-2010 unlike the Boston Tea party is not
demonstrating against taxation without representation but
A. taxation with representation
B. the unwarranted increase in the economic role of the federal government.
C. the election of a President who they do not believe was a born citizen of the U. S.
D. the use of Keynesian economics to avoid a depression $0.
7-44
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
196. Suppose Bartles earns $10,000 and James earns $200,000. Which of the following
statements is false concerning their Social Security taxes?
A. Both will pay a Social Security tax.
B. Bartles will pay Social Security tax on all of his income.
C. James will pay Social Security tax on the majority of her income.
D. James will pay Social Security tax at a higher average rate than will Bartles.
198. Statement I: The most important source of state tax revenue is the property tax while the
most important source of local tax revenue is the sales tax.
Statement II: As a share of federal spending, Social Security and Medicare will continue to
grow.
A. Statement I is true and Statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and Statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-45
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
200. Statement I: The payroll tax and the Social Security tax are not identical.
Statement II: The wage base for the Social Security tax is raised each year to keep pace with
inflation.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
202. If one person earns $20,000 per year and another person earns $80,000 per year, they
both will pay the Social Security tax ______________________.
A. at the same average tax rate
B. but the poorer person will pay at a higher average tax rate
C. but the richer person will pay at a higher average tax rate
D. but it is impossible to calculate their individual average tax rates
203. Which statement is FALSE with respect to the size and role of the U.S. government?
A. Two major crises, the Great Depression and World War II, led to a much greater economic
role for the federal government.
B. Since 1945, the role of government at the federal, state, and local level has expanded.
C. The economic role of the federal government has steadily expanded ever since the Civil
War.
D. The seeds of the expansion of the federal government's economic role were sown during
the Roosevelt administration from 1933-1945.
7-46
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
206. Suppose Stockton earns $30,000 per year and Malone earns $60,000 per year. Which of
the following statements is FALSE concerning their Social Security taxes?
A. Both will pay a Social Security tax.
B. Stockton will pay Social Security tax on all of his income.
C. Malone will pay Social Security tax on the majority of his income.
D. Stockton and Malone will pay the same Social Security tax rate on their incomes.
7-47
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
208. Statement 1: The first President George Bush and President Bill Clinton will go down in
history as two of our greatest tax cutters.
Statement 2: Presidents Ronald Reagan and the second President Bush will go down in
history as two of our greatest tax cutters.
A. Statement 1 is true and Statement 2 is false.
B. Statement 2 is true and Statement 1 is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
210. Statement 1: In 2002 and 2003, state after state slashed services and raised taxes.
Statement 2: Through the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s, state governments ran substantial
budget deficits.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-48
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
213. Which of the following statements about the Social Security tax is not true?
A. It is a regressive tax.
B. It is imposed on employees only.
C. It is a payroll tax.
D. It came into existence in 1935.
215. Which of the following years was there NOT a federal income tax cut?
A. 1981
B. 1986
C. 1993
D. 2001
E. 2003
216. Which of the following tax cuts lowered the top marginal tax rate to 28 percent?
A. The Kemp-Roth Tax Cut of 1981
B. The Tax Reform Act of 1986
C. The Tax Cut of 1993
D. The Tax Cut of 2001
E. The Tax Cut of 2003
7-49
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
218. Critics of the tax cut of 2001 made all of the following arguments EXCEPT
A. It would push up the federal budget deficit.
B. Most of the benefits would go to the rich.
C. The last time massive tax cuts were enacted in the 1980s, budget deficits increased
dramatically.
D. The tax cut will discourage people from working.
219. The Tax Cut of 2003 includes all of the following provisions EXCEPT
A. The child income tax credit was raised from $600 to $1,000.
B. The lowest minimum tax rate was lowered from 15 percent to 10 percent.
C. The highest income tax bracket was reduced from 38.6 percent to 35 percent.
D. The top personal income tax rate paid by stockholders on corporate dividends and on
capital gains was lowered to 15 percent.
220. Statement I: The federal government has given state and local governments unfunded
mandates, which are new obligations without providing enough money to pay for the
programs.
Statement II: The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was fully paid for by the federal
government.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-50
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
221. Which of the following could be called an unfunded mandate imposed by the federal
government to be carried out by state and local governments, without enough funds to cover
the cost of the program?
A. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
B. The requirement that states and localities hire new police officers by the Department of
Homeland Security.
C. The requirement that states carry out election reform, as a result of voting irregularities in
the 2000 election.
D. All the choices.
222. A family with a taxable income of $10,000 has to pay ______ in federal income tax.
________________________________________
223. A family with a taxable income of $5,000 has to pay ______ in federal income tax.
________________________________________
224. The highest marginal tax bracket today for the federal personal income tax is _____
percent.
________________________________________
225. If your marginal tax rate is higher than your average tax rate on the federal personal
income tax, that means that your marginal tax rate must be at least _____ percent.
________________________________________
7-51
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
227. Before the Great Recession of 2007-2008, Social Security taxes _________ Social
Security benefits by $_______ billion.
________________________________________
228. Well over half of all state and local government expenditures goes towards (1) ______;
(2) ______; and (3) ____.
________________________________________
229. The average tax rate is calculated by dividing _____ by ______; the marginal tax rate is
calculated by dividing _____ by ____.
________________________________________
231. A progressive tax is a tax that ____, while a regressive tax is one that ____.
________________________________________
232. In 2010, the upper middle class is taxed at a marginal rate of _____ percent, while the
working class and lower middle class is taxed at a marginal rate of _____ percent.
________________________________________
233. The three duties of government, according to Adam Smith, are (1) ____, (2) _____ and
(3) ____.
________________________________________
7-52
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
234. Most U.S. residents are taxed at marginal rates of _____ percent and _____ percent.
________________________________________
235. If you earned $10,000 in 2010 working for yourself, how much did the federal
government collect in payroll tax? ____.
________________________________________
236. The federal government has several economic roles; name three: (1) ____, (2) _____ and
(3) ____.
________________________________________
238. Fiscal year 2008 started on (give month, day and year) ____ / _____ / _____.
________________________________________
240. Between 1980 and 1988 the top marginal tax rate on federal personal income tax fell
from _____ percent to _____ percent; in 1990 it rose to _____ percent.
________________________________________
241. Interest payments on the national debt are projected to be about _____% by 2046.
________________________________________
7-53
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
243. The two largest sources of federal tax revenue are the _____ and the _____ tax.
________________________________________
244. Individuals with taxable incomes of between $0 and $8,350 are in the _____ percent tax
bracket.
________________________________________
245. The highest personal income tax bracket in 1992 was _____ percent.
________________________________________
246. A family with an average tax rate of 10% would have a marginal tax rate of _____
percent.
________________________________________
247. The economic role of government has been growing for _____ decades.
________________________________________
248. To find your family's taxable income, you need to subtract your _____ and your ____.
________________________________________
249. Transfer payments to individuals are about _____ percent of total government spending.
________________________________________
7-54
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
250. About _____ percent of all Americans pay more in social security tax than in personal
income tax.
________________________________________
251. The federal personal income tax is _____ progressive than it was in 1980.
________________________________________
252. A good not produced by private enterprise because no profit can be made on it that is
produced by the government is a _____ good.
________________________________________
253. In the U.S. tax receipts are almost _____ percent of our GDP.
________________________________________
254. _____ said that "The government is best which governs least".
________________________________________
255. The federal government is estimated to spend almost _______ on defense in fiscal year
2011.
________________________________________
256. Of federal government spending, less than _____ percent goes to foreign aid and about
_____ percent pays the interest on the federal debt.
________________________________________
257. Today the United States spends as much on defense as _____ of the nations combined.
________________________________________
7-55
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
258. In 2003 the top marginal federal income tax rate was reduced from 38.6 percent to
______.
________________________________________
259. Through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the states ran substantial budget ___________.
________________________________________
260. Every state but ____________ is legally obligated to balance its budget.
________________________________________
261. The Internet Tax Freedom Act resulted in a loss of approximately ________ in state and
local income tax collections in 2006.
________________________________________
262. Of federal government spending, about _____ percent is spent on defense and about
_____ percent is spent on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
________________________________________
263. Of all federal receipts (tax receipts and borrowing) about _____ percent comes from the
payroll tax.
________________________________________
264. Of all federal receipts (tax receipts and borrowing) about _____ percent comes from the
individual income tax.
________________________________________
7-56
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
265. Federal government spending was fairly constant for more than a decade until the year
____, when it rose sharply; then it rose sharply again in the year ____.
________________________________________
266. A tax of $1,000 per person would make the federal income tax more ____.
________________________________________
267. The federal government spending estimate for 2009 is a combined total of about ____.
________________________________________
268. If a person earned $40,000 in 2008, how much Social Security tax did she pay?
269. If a person earned $20,000 in 2008, how much Social Security tax did he pay?
7-57
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
270. If your taxable income was $40,000 and you paid $3,000 in federal income tax, what was
your average tax rate?
271. If you had a marginal tax rate of 15 percent and earned an extra $10,000, how much tax
would you pay?
272. If you earned an additional $1,000 of taxable income and paid $220 in taxes on that
income, what would your marginal tax rate be?
273. If your taxable income was $50,000 and you had an average tax rate of 20 percent, how
much tax did you pay?
7-58
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
274. If you earned an extra $2,000 and paid $400 in taxes on that income, what would your
marginal tax rate be?
275. If Mr. S. Hussein had a taxable income of $100,000 and earned an additional $100,000
interest on tax-exempt government bonds, if he paid $27,000 in taxes, how much would his
average tax rate be?
276. A single mother with two children earns wages of $10,000. (a) How much federal
personal income tax does she pay? (b) How much payroll tax does she pay?
277. A couple with three children earns $14,000 in wages. (a) How much payroll tax do they
pay? (b) How much federal personal income tax do they pay?
7-59
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
278. If you employ 100 people, each of whom earns $10,000, you have to pay payroll taxes
totaling how much?
279. If the Johnson family has an average tax rate of 10 percent, how much is its marginal tax
rate?
280. If Ms. Helmsley has an average tax rate of 33 percent, how much is her marginal tax
rate?
281. The Ace Plumbing Company employs 10 plumbers, each of whom earns $50,000 a year.
How much does the company have to pay the federal government in payroll taxes?
7-60
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
282. How much is the marginal tax rate of each of these individuals?
A) Ms. Smith paid $2,133,000 in personal income tax.
B) The Green family paid $280 in personal income tax.
C) The Johnsons, a couple with four children, had an income of $12,000.
283. The Noriega family pays $1,400 taxes on a taxable income of $14,000. How much is its
marginal tax rate?
284. Raul Castro has a taxable income of $4,500,000. What is his marginal tax rate?
285. What is the marginal tax rate of the chief executive officer of Exxon-Mobil?
7-61
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
286. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was a federal mandate which is estimated to cost
the states and local governments in excess of _________ a year.
287. The Dupont family paid $28,750,000 in federal income tax. How much is their average
tax rate and their marginal tax rate?
288. The Smiths, a married couple with four children, had an income of $14,000 before taxes.
What is their average tax rate and their marginal tax rate?
289. If a woman whose average tax rate were 25 percent had a taxable income of $40,000,
how much tax would she pay?
7-62
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
290. If you had a salary of $1,000,000, (a) how much Social Security tax would you have to
pay and (b) How much Medicare tax would you have to pay?
291. Mary Jones has $50,000 of taxable income. If her average tax rate is 20 percent and her
marginal tax rate is 31 percent, how much tax (in dollars) does she pay?
292. Max Smith has $60,000 of taxable income. If his average tax rate is 20 percent and his
marginal tax rate is 31 percent, how much tax (in dollars) does he pay?
293. Sue Hawkins earns $100,000. How much Social Security tax does she pay?
7-63
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
294. Mr. McCain pays $1,000,000 in federal income tax. How much is his marginal tax rate?
295. Mr. Forbes pays $35,000,000 in federal income tax. How much is his marginal tax rate?
296. A single person pays $200 in federal income tax. How much is her marginal tax rate and
her average tax rate?
297. A married couple pays $500 in federal income tax. How much is their marginal tax rate
and their average tax rate?
7-64
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
298. During the 1980s and 1990s, the fastest growing federal expenditures was the
___________________.
________________________________________
299. Presidents _____________ and _____________ will go down in history as the two
greatest tax cutters.
________________________________________
300. A flat or "fair" tax would increase the tax burden on the ___________ and
_______________ and decrease the tax burden on the _________.
________________________________________
301. Because of the Great Recession of 2007-2008, we are currently collecting _________ per
year in social security funds than we are distributing to recipients.
________________________________________
7-65
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
1. The role of government has grown tremendously over the last _____ decades.
A. four
B. six
C. eight
D. ten
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-08 Explain and discuss the economic role of government.
7-66
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
4. Federal spending on defense comes to about _____ per person in the United States.
A. $1,000
B. $1,900
C. $2,700
D. $3,500
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Analyze
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-05 List and discuss the sources of federal government revenue.
7-67
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
7-68
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
10. The fastest growing source of federal tax revenue is the _____ tax.
A. personal income
B. corporate income
C. payroll
D. excise
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 List and discuss the sources of federal government revenue.
12. In 2010, a person earning $300,000 would pay Social Security tax on
A. none of her income.
B. all of her income.
C. nearly all of her income.
D. less than half of her income.
7-69
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
13. The most important source of state tax revenue is the _____ tax.
A. property
B. income
C. excise
D. sales
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-07 List and discuss the sources of state and local government revenue.
7-70
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
16. Which one of these is not an economic function of the federal government?
A. Redistribution of income.
B. Stabilization.
C. Economic regulation.
D. Each is an economic function of the federal government.
17. The sales tax is the most important source of _____ government revenue.
A. federal
B. state
C. local
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-07 List and discuss the sources of state and local government revenue.
7-71
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
19. The maximum anyone had to pay in Social Security tax in 2009 was about ____.
A. $850
B. $6,620
C. $8,500
D. $17,000
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
20. Most sales taxes are ___________; most excise taxes are _________.
A. progressive, progressive
B. regressive, regressive
C. progressive, regressive
D. regressive, progressive
21. The property tax is the most important source of _____ government revenue.
A. federal
B. state
C. local
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-07 List and discuss the sources of state and local government revenue.
7-72
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
22. Under the Tax Reform Act of 1986 the maximum rate of the corporate income tax was
A. raised.
B. lowered.
C. not changed.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-06 Summarize recent federal tax legislation.
24. According to Adam Smith, each of these was an economic role of government except
A. protecting society from violence and invasion.
B. protecting individuals from oppression.
C. erecting public works which would not be in the interest of private individuals to erect.
D. redistributing some income from the rich to the poor.
7-73
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
7-74
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
7-75
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
31. Compared to people earning $150,000 a year, people earning $300,000 pay _________
Social Security taxes.
A. less
B. the same
C. slightly more
D. twice as much
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-76
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
34. The economic policy of the U.S. government could have been described as laissez-faire
until about
A. 1860.
B. 1900.
C. 1933.
D. 1945.
E. 1960.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-08 Explain and discuss the economic role of government.
7-77
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
38. Interest payments on the national debt are about _____ percent of total federal
expenditures a year.
A. 2
B. 5
C. 7
D. 11
E. 14
39. Which of the following statements does not apply to the U.S. tax structure?
A. The individual income tax system is progressive.
B. General sales taxes are regressive.
C. Property taxes are an important source of revenue for the federal government.
D. The major sources of revenue for the federal government differ from the major sources of
revenue for state and local governments.
7-78
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
40. Which of the following pairs represents the chief source of income and the most important
type of expenditure of local governments?
A. Property tax and expenditures for highways
B. Property tax and expenditures for education
C. Sales and excise taxes and expenditures for public welfare
D. Sales and excise taxes and expenditures for police, fire, and general government
41. What proportion of the federal spending is available for discretionary spending?
A. 9 percent.
B. 14 percent.
C. 23 percent.
D. 46 percent.
7-79
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
43. Mr. Bush earns $1,000,000 and pays $100,000 in taxes. Mr. Gore earns $150,000 and
pays $17,500 in taxes. The tax they pay would be considered
A. progressive.
B. proportional.
C. regressive.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
44. Transfer payments to individuals amount to a little less than _____ of total government
spending.
A. three-quarters
B. two-thirds
C. half
D. one-third
E. one-quarter
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
45. In modern free enterprise economies, which of the following is not an economic role of
government?
A. Stabilization of national income, employment, and the price level
B. Promotion and maintenance of competitive markets
C. Altering the allocation of resources to provide for public demands efficiently
D. Providing a reasonably certain legal, social, and business environment for stable economic
growth
E. Planning the production and distribution of most economic goods
7-80
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
46. Which of the following accounts for the largest percentage of all federal expenditures?
A. Income security such as Social Security
B. National defense
C. Interest on the public debt
D. Veterans' services
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
7-81
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
50. Statement I: Social Security benefits are financed entirely by taxes that workers pay.
Statement II: Social Security benefits are a government transfer payment.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
51. The essential difference between sales and excise taxes is that
A. sales taxes apply to a wide range of products, while excise taxes apply only to a select
group of products.
B. excise taxes apply to a wide range of products, while sales taxes apply only to a select
group of products.
C. sales taxes are consumption taxes, while excise are not.
D. excise taxes are consumption taxes, while sales are not.
7-82
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
7-83
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
Statement II: The federal government gets most of its revenue from indirect taxes.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-84
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
59. During the last half of 2008 and the first half of 2009, the congress passed and the
President signed two bills totaling about _______________ in an attempt to avert the Great
Recession.
A. about $700 billion
B. about $800 billion
C. nearly $1.5 trillion
D. more than $2.0 trillion
60. Federal government spending on medicare & medicaid have increased by a factor of
_____ between 1969 and 2011.
A. 2
B. 4
C. 5
D. over 7
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
7-85
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
61. If your taxable income rises from $35,000 to $45,000, and the taxes you pay rise from
$12,000 to $15,000, your marginal tax rate is
A. 10 percent.
B. 20 percent.
C. 30 percent.
D. 40 percent.
E. Impossible to determine.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
62. If your taxable income rises from $27,000 to $47,000, and the taxes you pay rise from
$15,000 to $20,000, your marginal tax rate is
A. 15 percent.
B. 25 percent.
C. 35 percent.
D. 45 percent.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-86
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
64. Statement I: Most poor people have an average tax rate of 10 percent.
Statement II: In 1992 the maximum federal personal income tax rate was 31 percent.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
65. Statement I: Most Americans pay more in Social Security tax than in personal income tax.
Statement II: A tax on cigarettes is more regressive than a tax on long distance phone calls.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
66. Statement I: A progressive tax places a heavier burden on the rich than on the poor.
Statement II: The Social Security tax is more regressive than the federal personal income tax.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-87
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
67. In 2009 the highest federal personal income tax bracket was _____ percent.
A. 28
B. 35
C. 36
D. 50
E. 70
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
68. If taxable income is rising and if the marginal tax rate is greater than the average tax rate,
then
A. the average tax rate must be rising.
B. the average tax rate must be falling.
C. the average tax rate may be either rising or falling.
D. the tax is regressive.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
69. In 2011 when the "Bush tax cuts" expire the percentage tax rate for the rich will revert
back to the (pre-Bush) rate of ____________ percent if congress doesn't pass a new law.
A. 36.5
B. 39.6
C. 44.0
D. 70.0
7-88
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
71. A progressive tax is one where the percentage charged on income ______________ as
income increases.
A. increases and then decreases
B. is constant
C. decreases
D. increases
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
72. Which of the following federal government expenditures is the largest burden on the
budget?
A. Social security
B. Medicare and medicaid
C. Defense
D. Interest on national debt
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
7-89
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
73. In 2010, anyone with an income in excess of $_____________ pays the marginal tax rate
of 35%.
A. 500,000
B. 372,950
C. 296,400
D. 198,200
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
74. Warren Buffett, the noted stock market investor, and world's second richest man has
noted:
A. his average tax rate is lower than his secretary.
B. his world ranking would increase substantially if taxes were lower $20,000
C. his taxes were so high that he was supporting the government by himself.
D. his wealth was very high because of the low tax rates enjoyed by the rich.
75. A person earning $200,000 a year pays a little over _____ in payroll taxes.
A. $6,000
B. $9,500
C. $12,000
D. $15,000
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
7-90
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
76. If you had $1,000 of taxable income you would have to pay _____ in federal income tax.
A. 0
B. $100
C. $150
D. Between $150 and $280
E. $280
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
77. If you had a total income of $4,000 (including wages, interest, and dividends) you would
have to pay federal personal income taxes of
A. 0.
B. Less than $600.
C. $600.
D. More than $600.
E. It is impossible to answer without more information.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-91
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 List and discuss the sources of federal government revenue.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
81. The tax rates embodied in the federal personal income tax are such that
A. a rising absolute amount, but a declining proportion, of income is paid in taxes.
B. the marginal and average tax rates are equal, making the tax progressive.
C. the average tax rate rises more rapidly than does the marginal tax rate.
D. the marginal tax rate is higher than the average tax rate, causing the average tax rate to rise.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-92
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
83. Sales and excise taxes tend to be ___________ because low income people tend to spend
a _________ fraction of their income than high income people.
A. progressive; larger
B. regressive; larger
C. progressive; smaller
D. regressive; smaller
7-93
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
7-94
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
87. The Jones family has an average tax rate of 15 percent. Its marginal tax rate is
A. less than 15 percent.
B. 15 percent.
C. more than 15 percent.
D. impossible to find.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
88. In 2007, the richest 400 U. S. households earned an average income of $345 million. What
was their average income tax rate?
A. 34 percent.
B. 25 percent.
C. About 17 percent.
D. Less than 12 percent.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-95
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
90. Which of the following is the best example of a government expenditure for goods or
services?
A. Salaries of Supreme Court justices
B. Social security pensions paid to the elderly
C. Welfare payments
D. Unemployment compensation
E. The progressive income tax
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 List and discuss the sources of federal government revenue.
92. Which of the following statements about the Social Security tax is not true?
A. It is a progressive tax.
B. It came into existence in 1935.
C. It is imposed on employers and employees.
D. It is a payroll tax.
7-96
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
93. Statement I: We have faithfully followed Adam Smith's description of the government's
economic role.
Statement II: The U.S. government's role has grown smaller over the last 70 years.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
94. Statement I: The economic role of government has been growing over the last eight
decades.
Statement II: The economic role of government will definitely be reduced in the coming
years.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
95. In recent years our social and economic problems have _____ and government will get
_____ involved in solving these problems.
A. increased, more
B. increased, less
C. decreased, more
D. decreased, less
7-97
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
96. In 2010 Mr. Huckabee paid $500 in personal income tax. His taxable income was
A. $5,000.
B. $10,000.
C. $15,000.
D. $20,000.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
97. Mr. Romney paid $300 in personal income tax. His taxable income was
A. $1,000.
B. $2,000.
C. $3,000.
D. $10,000.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
7-98
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
99. Statement I: The two largest categories of federal spending are Social Security and
defense.
Statement II: The payroll tax is a more important source of revenue for the federal
government than the corporate income tax.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
101. Statement I: Federal marginal income tax brackets for the wealthy are higher today than
they were in 1980.
Statement II: The highest federal income tax bracket today is 70 percent.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-99
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
A. I and III
B. I
C. II
D. I and II
E. III
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
7-100
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
The Joneses have a taxable income of $18,000, all in the form of wages. They have three
children, and they take the standard deduction.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
106. The Joneses pay no more than _____ in personal income tax.
A. $5,000
B. $3,000
C. $1,800
D. $750
E. $0
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
107. Defense is the largest single component of federal government taking ________ cents
our of every government dollar spent.
A. 13
B. 16
C. 20
D. 24
7-101
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-102
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
111. If your taxable income increases from $30,000 to $40,000, your marginal tax rate is
A. 10 percent
B. 20 percent
C. 30 percent
D. 40 percent
E. 50 percent
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-103
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
114. If your taxable income increases from $20,000 to $40,000, your marginal tax rate is
A. 5 percent.
B. 7.5 percent.
C. 10 percent.
D. 12.5 percent.
E. 15 percent.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-104
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
115. If your taxable income is $30,000, how much tax would you owe?
A. $500
B. $1,000
C. $1500
D. $2,000
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
Statement II: The federal personal income tax is more progressive today than it was in 1980.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-105
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-05 List and discuss the sources of federal government revenue.
120. Ralph earns $40,000 per year. According to the income tax schedule, he must pay $4,000
in income taxes this year. If he had earned $50,000 his tax liability would have been $6,000.
What marginal tax rate does Ralph face?
A. 10 percent
B. 12 percent
C. 20 percent
D. 66 percent
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-106
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
121. Statement I: Foreign aid is the fourth largest federal spending program.
Statement II: Most Americans pay more in Social Security taxes than in federal personal
income taxes.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
122. According to the IRS, the average large corporation in the United States paid just less
than _______ percent in 2006.
A. 34
B. 27
C. 24
D. 13
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
123. In 2010 the highest marginal tax rate for the federal personal income tax was _____
percent.
A. 28
B. 33
C. 35
D. 50
E. 70
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-107
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Analyze
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 List and discuss the sources of federal government revenue.
125. The federal government gets _____ of its tax revenue from direct taxes.
A. all.
B. nearly all
C. about half
D. less than half
E. none
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 List and discuss the sources of federal government revenue.
126. Groucho earns $5 million and pays $2 million in taxes; Harpo earns $300,000 and pays
$80,000 in taxes; Chico earns $25,000 and pays $1,000 in taxes. The tax they pay would be
considered
A. progressive.
B. proportional.
C. regressive.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
7-108
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
127. The rich pay a _____ proportion of their income and a _____ dollar amount of federal
income tax than the middle class.
A. higher, higher
B. lower, lower
C. higher, lower
128. Who, from among the following, said this "In this world nothing can be said to be
certain, except death and taxes."
A. Thomas Jefferson
B. Adam Smith
C. Benjamin Franklin
D. Sir William Petty
E. John Stuart Mill
7-109
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
131. Statement I: Taxes for the rich were raised substantially in 1990 and 1993.
Statement II: Personal income tax rates are much lower today than they were in 1980.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
132. Statement I: Two major personal income tax cuts were passed during the administration
of President Ronald Reagan.
Statement II: The top marginal tax rate for the federal personal income tax was 70 percent in
1980.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-110
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
133. During the Clinton administration, the marginal tax rate on the rich was:
A. Decreased
B. Stayed the same
C. Increased by about 2 percent
D. Increased by over 7 percent
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-06 Summarize recent federal tax legislation.
135. Most state revenue comes from the _____ tax and most local revenue comes from the
_____ tax.
A. property, property
B. sales, sales
C. sales, property
D. property, sales
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-07 List and discuss the sources of state and local government revenue.
7-111
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
136. In the United States, federal government tax receipts are somewhat less than _____
percent of GDP.
A. 10
B. 20
C. 30
D. 40
E. 50
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 List and discuss the sources of federal government revenue.
137. Which country from the following provides its government with the same percent of its
GDP in taxes as the U.S.?
A. Germany
B. Britain
C. Italy
D. France
E. None of the choices
7-112
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
140. Which of the following is a true statement concerning federal transfer payments?
A. Transfer payments ultimately must be repaid to the government by recipients.
B. Transfer payments are included in the imports category of GDP.
C. Transfer payments are included in the net exports category of GDP.
D. Transfer payments are payments made by the government for which no good or service is
currently received in return.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
7-113
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
7-114
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
146. Which one of these people said this? "The art of taxation consists in so plucking the
goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest amount of
hissing."
A. John Stuart Mill
B. John Maynard Keynes
C. Milton Friedman
D. Karl Marx
E. Jean Baptiste Colbert
7-115
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
148. After the major income tax decrease for the high income earners in 1981, the federal
deficit _______ by 1990.
A. had not changed
B. tripled
C. cut by half
D. doubled
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
7-116
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
152. A couple with two dependent children with a taxable income of $12,000 will
A. definitely pay some personal income tax.
B. probably pay some personal income tax.
C. pay no personal income tax.
D. There is not enough information to make any of these statements.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-117
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
154. Statement I: The primary income sources of the rich are dividends, interest, and profit,
none of which is subject to the Social Security tax.
Statement II: The payroll tax is the federal government's fastest-growing source of revenue.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
155. In 2010, a married couple with one child earning $32,000 would pay $2,448.00 in
payroll tax and $__________ in federal income taxes.
A. more than $2,000
B. about $1,000
C. more than $750
D. 0
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Analyze
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-118
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
158. Who said this? "The government is best which governs least".
A. Thomas Jefferson
B. Sir William Petty
C. John Stuart Mill
D. Benjamin Franklin
E. John Maynard Keynes
159. Who, among the following, said this? "It is generally allowed by all, that men should
contribute to the public charge but according to the share and interest they have in the public
peace; that is, according to their estates or riches".
A. Benjamin Franklin
B. Sir William Petty
C. Jean Baptiste Colbert
D. Adam Smith
E. John Stuart Mill
7-119
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
160. Who said this? ". . . the sovereign has only three duties to attend to. . . . first, the duty of
protecting the society from violence and invasion . . .; secondly, the duty of protecting . . .
every member of the society from the injustice or oppression of every other member of it all;
and thirdly, the duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works and public institutions,
which it can never be for the interest of any individual . . . to erect and maintain. . . "
A. Adam Smith
B. John Stuart Mill
C. Sir William Petty
D. Franklin Roosevelt
E. Thomas Jefferson
161. Statement I: We could make the Social Security tax less regressive by lowering the
wage-base limitation to $25,000.
Statement II: The highest marginal tax rate on the federal personal income tax is 31 percent.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
162. An average tax rate of 1% on the poor and 20% on the rich would be
A. progressive.
B. proportional.
C. regressive.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-120
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
163. An average tax rate of 20 percent on the poor and 1 percent on the rich would be
A. progressive.
B. proportional.
C. regressive.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-121
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
166. In the Netherlands and Germany a gallon of gasoline costs a little over
A. $7.00.
B. $4.
C. $3.
D. $2.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-05 List and discuss the sources of federal government revenue.
7-122
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
169. From the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, the federal government ran a _____ and the state
and local governments ran a ____.
A. deficit, deficit
B. deficit, surplus
C. surplus, surplus
D. surplus, deficit
171. The top federal personal income tax bracket is now _______ percent.
A. 25
B. 35
C. 55
D. 70
E. 85
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-123
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
174. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have three children, earn $22,000 at their jobs, and have no other
income. We may conclude that they
A. probably pay more payroll tax than federal personal income tax.
B. definitely pay more payroll tax than federal personal income tax.
C. probably pay more federal personal income tax than payroll tax.
D. definitely pay more federal personal income tax than payroll tax.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-124
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
175. Ms. Rockefeller has an income of $200 million. If her income is in the form of wages
and salary, then most of her income is taxed at __________ percent.
A. 15 percent
B. 27 percent
C. 30 percent
D. 35 percent
E. 38.6 percent
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
176. Statement I: Compared to citizens of other leading industrial countries, Americans are
overtaxed.
Statement II: We could make the payroll tax less regressive by raising the wage-base
limitation to $200,000.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
7-125
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
178. K – 12 public education in the U.S. is paid for mainly by the _____ tax.
A. income
B. sales
C. excise
D. property
180. Pei Chen has a federal personal income marginal tax rate of 28 percent. His average tax
rate
A. is more than 28%.
B. is also 28%.
C. is less than 28%.
D. is zero.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-126
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
181. Mr. and Mrs. Nakama were paying $6,000 taxes on a combined taxable income of
$40,000. When they both received pay increases, they found themselves in a higher tax
bracket-28 percent. Their average tax rate
A. fell.
B. rose to 15%.
C. rose to between 15% and 28%.
D. rose to 28%.
E. rose above 28%.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
182. Claire Quinn has a marginal tax rate of 33 percent on her federal personal income tax.
Her average tax rate is
A. more than 33%.
B. also 33%.
C. less than 33%.
D. zero.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-127
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
186. In the 1950s the top marginal federal personal income tax rate was
A. 91%.
B. 70%.
C. 50%.
D. 31%.
E. 28%.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-128
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
187. Statement I: The top marginal rate of the federal personal income tax is much lower
today than it was in the 1950s.
Statement II: The Social Security system will run out of money by the year 2013.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
188. Statement I: The average tax rate is found by dividing taxable income by taxes paid.
Statement II: Rich people generally pay a higher marginal tax rate than their average tax rate.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
189. Statement I: The highest marginal federal personal income tax rate is 30 percent.
Statement II: The marginal tax rate is found by dividing additional taxes paid by additional
taxable income.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-129
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
192. The Tea party in the United States in 2009-2010 unlike the Boston Tea party is not
demonstrating against taxation without representation but
A. taxation with representation
B. the unwarranted increase in the economic role of the federal government.
C. the election of a President who they do not believe was a born citizen of the U. S.
D. the use of Keynesian economics to avoid a depression $0.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-130
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
7-131
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
196. Suppose Bartles earns $10,000 and James earns $200,000. Which of the following
statements is false concerning their Social Security taxes?
A. Both will pay a Social Security tax.
B. Bartles will pay Social Security tax on all of his income.
C. James will pay Social Security tax on the majority of her income.
D. James will pay Social Security tax at a higher average rate than will Bartles.
198. Statement I: The most important source of state tax revenue is the property tax while the
most important source of local tax revenue is the sales tax.
Statement II: As a share of federal spending, Social Security and Medicare will continue to
grow.
A. Statement I is true and Statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and Statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-132
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
200. Statement I: The payroll tax and the Social Security tax are not identical.
Statement II: The wage base for the Social Security tax is raised each year to keep pace with
inflation.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-133
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
202. If one person earns $20,000 per year and another person earns $80,000 per year, they
both will pay the Social Security tax ______________________.
A. at the same average tax rate
B. but the poorer person will pay at a higher average tax rate
C. but the richer person will pay at a higher average tax rate
D. but it is impossible to calculate their individual average tax rates
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
203. Which statement is FALSE with respect to the size and role of the U.S. government?
A. Two major crises, the Great Depression and World War II, led to a much greater economic
role for the federal government.
B. Since 1945, the role of government at the federal, state, and local level has expanded.
C. The economic role of the federal government has steadily expanded ever since the Civil
War.
D. The seeds of the expansion of the federal government's economic role were sown during
the Roosevelt administration from 1933-1945.
7-134
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
206. Suppose Stockton earns $30,000 per year and Malone earns $60,000 per year. Which of
the following statements is FALSE concerning their Social Security taxes?
A. Both will pay a Social Security tax.
B. Stockton will pay Social Security tax on all of his income.
C. Malone will pay Social Security tax on the majority of his income.
D. Stockton and Malone will pay the same Social Security tax rate on their incomes.
7-135
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
208. Statement 1: The first President George Bush and President Bill Clinton will go down in
history as two of our greatest tax cutters.
Statement 2: Presidents Ronald Reagan and the second President Bush will go down in
history as two of our greatest tax cutters.
A. Statement 1 is true and Statement 2 is false.
B. Statement 2 is true and Statement 1 is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
210. Statement 1: In 2002 and 2003, state after state slashed services and raised taxes.
Statement 2: Through the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s, state governments ran substantial
budget deficits.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
7-136
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
213. Which of the following statements about the Social Security tax is not true?
A. It is a regressive tax.
B. It is imposed on employees only.
C. It is a payroll tax.
D. It came into existence in 1935.
7-137
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
215. Which of the following years was there NOT a federal income tax cut?
A. 1981
B. 1986
C. 1993
D. 2001
E. 2003
216. Which of the following tax cuts lowered the top marginal tax rate to 28 percent?
A. The Kemp-Roth Tax Cut of 1981
B. The Tax Reform Act of 1986
C. The Tax Cut of 1993
D. The Tax Cut of 2001
E. The Tax Cut of 2003
7-138
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
218. Critics of the tax cut of 2001 made all of the following arguments EXCEPT
A. It would push up the federal budget deficit.
B. Most of the benefits would go to the rich.
C. The last time massive tax cuts were enacted in the 1980s, budget deficits increased
dramatically.
D. The tax cut will discourage people from working.
219. The Tax Cut of 2003 includes all of the following provisions EXCEPT
A. The child income tax credit was raised from $600 to $1,000.
B. The lowest minimum tax rate was lowered from 15 percent to 10 percent.
C. The highest income tax bracket was reduced from 38.6 percent to 35 percent.
D. The top personal income tax rate paid by stockholders on corporate dividends and on
capital gains was lowered to 15 percent.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-06 Summarize recent federal tax legislation.
7-139
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
220. Statement I: The federal government has given state and local governments unfunded
mandates, which are new obligations without providing enough money to pay for the
programs.
Statement II: The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was fully paid for by the federal
government.
A. Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B. Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C. Both statements are true.
D. Both statements are false.
221. Which of the following could be called an unfunded mandate imposed by the federal
government to be carried out by state and local governments, without enough funds to cover
the cost of the program?
A. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
B. The requirement that states and localities hire new police officers by the Department of
Homeland Security.
C. The requirement that states carry out election reform, as a result of voting irregularities in
the 2000 election.
D. All the choices.
7-140
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
222. A family with a taxable income of $10,000 has to pay ______ in federal income tax.
$1,000
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
223. A family with a taxable income of $5,000 has to pay ______ in federal income tax.
$500
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
224. The highest marginal tax bracket today for the federal personal income tax is _____
percent.
35
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
225. If your marginal tax rate is higher than your average tax rate on the federal personal
income tax, that means that your marginal tax rate must be at least _____ percent.
15
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-141
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
227. Before the Great Recession of 2007-2008, Social Security taxes _________ Social
Security benefits by $_______ billion.
exceed, 150
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 List and discuss the sources of federal government revenue.
228. Well over half of all state and local government expenditures goes towards (1) ______;
(2) ______; and (3) ____.
education, health and welfare
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
229. The average tax rate is calculated by dividing _____ by ______; the marginal tax rate is
calculated by dividing _____ by ____.
taxes paid, taxable income; additional taxes paid, additional taxable income
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-142
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
231. A progressive tax is a tax that ____, while a regressive tax is one that ____.
falls more heavily on the rich; falls more heavily on the poor
232. In 2010, the upper middle class is taxed at a marginal rate of _____ percent, while the
working class and lower middle class is taxed at a marginal rate of _____ percent.
28; 15
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
233. The three duties of government, according to Adam Smith, are (1) ____, (2) _____ and
(3) ____.
(1) protecting the society from the violence of invasion (i.e., defense); (2) protecting
individuals from injustice and oppression; and (3) setting up public works that are not
profitable for individuals
7-143
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
234. Most U.S. residents are taxed at marginal rates of _____ percent and _____ percent.
10 and 15
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
235. If you earned $10,000 in 2010 working for yourself, how much did the federal
government collect in payroll tax? ____.
$1,530
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 List and discuss the sources of federal government revenue.
236. The federal government has several economic roles; name three: (1) ____, (2) _____ and
(3) ____.
income redistribution; stabilization; economic regulation, spend and tax
7-144
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
238. Fiscal year 2008 started on (give month, day and year) ____ / _____ / _____.
10/1/08
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-08 Explain and discuss the economic role of government.
240. Between 1980 and 1988 the top marginal tax rate on federal personal income tax fell
from _____ percent to _____ percent; in 1990 it rose to _____ percent.
70 to 28; 31
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-06 Summarize recent federal tax legislation.
241. Interest payments on the national debt are projected to be about _____% by 2046.
26
7-145
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
243. The two largest sources of federal tax revenue are the _____ and the _____ tax.
personal income, payroll (Social Security)
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 List and discuss the sources of federal government revenue.
244. Individuals with taxable incomes of between $0 and $8,350 are in the _____ percent tax
bracket.
10
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
245. The highest personal income tax bracket in 1992 was _____ percent.
31
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-146
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
246. A family with an average tax rate of 10% would have a marginal tax rate of _____
percent.
10
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
247. The economic role of government has been growing for _____ decades.
eight
248. To find your family's taxable income, you need to subtract your _____ and your ____.
exemptions, deductions
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
249. Transfer payments to individuals are about _____ percent of total government spending.
50
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
7-147
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
250. About _____ percent of all Americans pay more in social security tax than in personal
income tax.
75
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
251. The federal personal income tax is _____ progressive than it was in 1980.
less
252. A good not produced by private enterprise because no profit can be made on it that is
produced by the government is a _____ good.
public
253. In the U.S. tax receipts are almost _____ percent of our GDP.
20
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 List and discuss the sources of federal government revenue.
7-148
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
254. _____ said that "The government is best which governs least".
Thomas Jefferson
255. The federal government is estimated to spend almost _______ on defense in fiscal year
2011.
$730 billion [from Slavin's changes on p. 144]
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
256. Of federal government spending, less than _____ percent goes to foreign aid and about
_____ percent pays the interest on the federal debt.
1, 8 [see Figure 1, p. 144]
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
257. Today the United States spends as much on defense as _____ of the nations combined.
all
7-149
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
258. In 2003 the top marginal federal income tax rate was reduced from 38.6 percent to
______.
35.0%
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
259. Through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the states ran substantial budget ___________.
surpluses
260. Every state but ____________ is legally obligated to balance its budget.
Vermont
261. The Internet Tax Freedom Act resulted in a loss of approximately ________ in state and
local income tax collections in 2006.
$20 billion
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-07 List and discuss the sources of state and local government revenue.
7-150
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
262. Of federal government spending, about _____ percent is spent on defense and about
_____ percent is spent on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
23 percent, 39 percent [updates to Figure 1]
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
263. Of all federal receipts (tax receipts and borrowing) about _____ percent comes from the
payroll tax.
35 percent [Figure 1]
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 List and discuss the sources of federal government revenue.
264. Of all federal receipts (tax receipts and borrowing) about _____ percent comes from the
individual income tax.
46 percent [Figure 1]
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 List and discuss the sources of federal government revenue.
265. Federal government spending was fairly constant for more than a decade until the year
____, when it rose sharply; then it rose sharply again in the year ____.
1933, 1941 (or 1942)
7-151
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
266. A tax of $1,000 per person would make the federal income tax more ____.
regressive
267. The federal government spending estimate for 2009 is a combined total of about ____.
$3,200 billion
268. If a person earned $40,000 in 2008, how much Social Security tax did she pay?
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
269. If a person earned $20,000 in 2008, how much Social Security tax did he pay?
$1,240
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
7-152
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
270. If your taxable income was $40,000 and you paid $3,000 in federal income tax, what was
your average tax rate?
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
271. If you had a marginal tax rate of 15 percent and earned an extra $10,000, how much tax
would you pay?
$1,500
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
272. If you earned an additional $1,000 of taxable income and paid $220 in taxes on that
income, what would your marginal tax rate be?
22 percent
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
273. If your taxable income was $50,000 and you had an average tax rate of 20 percent, how
much tax did you pay?
$10,000
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-153
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
274. If you earned an extra $2,000 and paid $400 in taxes on that income, what would your
marginal tax rate be?
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
275. If Mr. S. Hussein had a taxable income of $100,000 and earned an additional $100,000
interest on tax-exempt government bonds, if he paid $27,000 in taxes, how much would his
average tax rate be?
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
276. A single mother with two children earns wages of $10,000. (a) How much federal
personal income tax does she pay? (b) How much payroll tax does she pay?
a. 0; b. $765
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
7-154
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
277. A couple with three children earns $14,000 in wages. (a) How much payroll tax do they
pay? (b) How much federal personal income tax do they pay?
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
278. If you employ 100 people, each of whom earns $10,000, you have to pay payroll taxes
totaling how much?
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
279. If the Johnson family has an average tax rate of 10 percent, how much is its marginal tax
rate?
10 percent
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-155
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
280. If Ms. Helmsley has an average tax rate of 33 percent, how much is her marginal tax
rate?
35 percent
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
281. The Ace Plumbing Company employs 10 plumbers, each of whom earns $50,000 a year.
How much does the company have to pay the federal government in payroll taxes?
$3,825 10 = $38,250
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
282. How much is the marginal tax rate of each of these individuals?
A) Ms. Smith paid $2,133,000 in personal income tax.
B) The Green family paid $280 in personal income tax.
C) The Johnsons, a couple with four children, had an income of $12,000.
A. 35% B. 10% C. 0%
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-156
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
283. The Noriega family pays $1,400 taxes on a taxable income of $14,000. How much is its
marginal tax rate?
10%
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
284. Raul Castro has a taxable income of $4,500,000. What is his marginal tax rate?
35%
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
285. What is the marginal tax rate of the chief executive officer of Exxon-Mobil?
35%
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
286. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was a federal mandate which is estimated to cost
the states and local governments in excess of _________ a year.
$35 billion
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
7-157
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
287. The Dupont family paid $28,750,000 in federal income tax. How much is their average
tax rate and their marginal tax rate?
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
288. The Smiths, a married couple with four children, had an income of $14,000 before taxes.
What is their average tax rate and their marginal tax rate?
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
289. If a woman whose average tax rate were 25 percent had a taxable income of $40,000,
how much tax would she pay?
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-158
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
290. If you had a salary of $1,000,000, (a) how much Social Security tax would you have to
pay and (b) How much Medicare tax would you have to pay?
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
291. Mary Jones has $50,000 of taxable income. If her average tax rate is 20 percent and her
marginal tax rate is 31 percent, how much tax (in dollars) does she pay?
$50,000 .2 = $10,000
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
292. Max Smith has $60,000 of taxable income. If his average tax rate is 20 percent and his
marginal tax rate is 31 percent, how much tax (in dollars) does he pay?
$60,000 .2 = $12,000
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-159
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
293. Sue Hawkins earns $100,000. How much Social Security tax does she pay?
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
294. Mr. McCain pays $1,000,000 in federal income tax. How much is his marginal tax rate?
35%
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
295. Mr. Forbes pays $35,000,000 in federal income tax. How much is his marginal tax rate?
35%
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
296. A single person pays $200 in federal income tax. How much is her marginal tax rate and
her average tax rate?
10%; 10%
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-160
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
297. A married couple pays $500 in federal income tax. How much is their marginal tax rate
and their average tax rate?
10%; 10%
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 Define and compute the average and marginal tax rates.
7-161
Chapter 07 - The Government Sector
298. During the 1980s and 1990s, the fastest growing federal expenditures was the
___________________.
Interest on national debt
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 Define and discuss federal; state; and local government spending.
299. Presidents _____________ and _____________ will go down in history as the two
greatest tax cutters.
Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush
300. A flat or "fair" tax would increase the tax burden on the ___________ and
_______________ and decrease the tax burden on the _________.
poor, working class, rich
301. Because of the Great Recession of 2007-2008, we are currently collecting _________ per
year in social security funds than we are distributing to recipients.
Less
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Identify and discuss the types of taxes.
7-162
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
warning it may have to be told about, for the sake of the young; but, against
that, we may find, for Dinah's sake, that it might not be convenient to make
it a public affair. And now we'll put this away for the Lord to work on, Joe.
Be sure it won't slumber nor sleep, but take the shape He wills in our hands.
We'll talk of the wedding now for ten minutes afore I be off. How would
you like a triumphant arch over the lichgate to church? It can very easy be
done."
"No," said Mr. Stockman. "I'm going through with it as a father should,
Arthur, and we're to have a very fine meal, with a pastry-cook from
Ashburton to prepare it and serve it. I'm doing my part, and I'm giving
Susan away in church, and I've asked all the neighbours, including five
outlying friends of Palk's. But, between you and me and without
unkindness, I feel no temptation to lose my head about what's going to
happen. I don't hunger for large diversions, nor yet triumphant arches over
the lichgate, nor anywhere else. I want for it to be over and them back
home, so as I may see how it's going on and what measure of peace and
comfort I can count upon in the future. The time for triumphant arches be
when a pair have stood each other ten years, and can still go on with it."
"Keep your nerve and give 'em every fair chance and trust God," said
Mr. Chaffe.
"Be sure of that," answered Joe. "I only wish I felt so sure that, hunting
in a couple, they'll do their duty to me so well as I shall do mine to them."
CHAPTER XXXVI
They had not yet decided where the fortnight's holiday should be spent,
and he suggested that Barnstaple would serve the purpose.
"And so could I," added Susan, "because I've never seen 'em in my life,
and father haven't seen 'em for twenty years—have you, father?"
Joe admitted that he had not, but the eider-down quilt impressed him
and he held it desirable that the families might be better acquainted. He was
not in the least proud of Mr. Palk; yet, upon the whole, he thought it well
that his daughter should come within reach of her relatives. The honeymoon
was therefore fixed for Barnstaple.
"Us wish you very well, though Joe do not," said Mr. Palk, "and I hope
some day, when you've got time, you'll write to me and tell about Australia
—especially how hosses be out there."
The wedding was well attended and Melinda, who came over in the
morning to help Soosie-Toosie with her new dress, declared that the bride,
in a steel-blue gown and a large white hat with a white feather in it, had
never looked so well. Mr. Palk was also clad in blue, of another shade. His
wedding garment was of ultramarine shot with a yellow thread, and he wore
a yellow tie with a green shamrock sprigged upon it. The best man came
from Newton Abbot. He was older by many years than the bridegroom, but
he had merry eyes and a merry face and declared a score of times that he
had known Mr. Palk from childhood, and that an honester man didn't walk.
From Buckland Court came Susan's bridal bouquet of orchids and white
roses, which Mr. Ford carried up the evening before and himself immersed
in a jug of water for the night. A pair of distinguished candlesticks and a
clock came from the Court also, greatly to the gratification of Mr.
Stockman; while his landlord sent Susan a cheque for ten pounds.
At the wedding were the family of Withycombes (the sailor had given
Susan two amazing shells from the other end of the world); while from
Green Hayes came John and Jane Bamsey and their mother. Dinah was with
them at church, but did not attend the wedding breakfast, asking rather to
return to her foster-father at home. Those who understood were not
surprised to learn her wish to do so. Mr. Chaffe was present and also
enjoyed the banquet. No less than fifteen sat down, and they openly
declared in each other's ears that Joe had "spread himself" in a very
handsome manner.
One speech only was made, and Arthur proposed the health of bride and
bridegroom in an oration which made Soosie-Toosie shed a few tears
despite herself. Then Thomas was held back, as he rose with the rest to
drink his own everlasting happiness; and his wife cut the cake, declaring it
was a terrible pity to spoil such a pretty thing.
They drove off in their blue attire presently, and the last seen of them
was Mr. Palk waving his new grey wide-awake from one window of the
wedding chariot and Susan fluttering a handkerchief from the other.
Many curious eyes rested on Maynard during the course of the meal, but
he was innocent of the fact and preserved a cheerful demeanour. Those who
watched him mused, according to the measure of their intelligence, as to
what was proceeding in his mind; but none guessed; all the conspirators
rather found in his brown face and dark eyes evidences of a devious and
lawless spirit hiding itself for its own purposes. He was in reality
considering how far different would his own doubtful nuptials be in a
strange land amid strange faces.
When the entertainment was at an end and most of the wedding guests
had gone, with expressions of their gratitude, certain men, by arrangement,
drifted away together. Maynard, in the farmyard milking the cows, saw Mr.
Stockman with Mr. Chaffe and a few others saunter over the autumnal moor
and sit presently together upon a flat ledge of rocks under the Beacon.
And there it was that Arthur learned the last news concerning Maynard,
the date of his departure and the hour at which, upon the day following, he
would meet Dinah at their last tryst. He himself had come primed with an
inspiration as to what should be done.
"And at the cross the man must face his outraged fellow creatures,"
declared Mr. Chaffe. "And when Dinah comes, she shall see and hear the
bitter truth. All be clear in my mind's eye now and I see a very high and
solemn deed, which must be done in the spirit of justice only—else it will
fail. We be the instruments, and if any man have any hate or ill will towards
the evil doer rather than the evil deed, then he'd better stand down and let
another take his place. For Maynard have got to be handled, and when he
fights against us, as he will, with the whole force of his baffled wickedness,
we must act without passion and feel no more rage in our hearts than the
Saviour did when he cast the devil out of a poor, suffering creature. We
must be patient under Maynard's wrath."
"'Tis a young man's job," said Joe, after Arthur had described his
dramatic purpose, "and we can very well leave it to them. Us older blades
needn't be called to be there at all, I reckon."
"I wouldn't say there was any cause for you to be," answered Arthur,
"but I shall certainly be there. It's my duty; I be the voice that will reach his
heart and his conscience, I hope, when the rough work's done and the blow
has fallen. And there's the woman to be thought upon also. One has to
consider this matter from every point of view. I shall take Orphan Dinah
back to her home, when all is over, and she understands how the Lord has
looked after her."
"And why not a dust up?" asked Johnny; but Arthur admonished him.
"If you feel like that, you'd best not to come, Bamsey," he said. "I tell
you again that all's spoiled if we don't carry this thing out in a proper
manner. Robert be perfectly right. The man had far better feel he is up
against a force beyond his strength to oppose. We don't want no painful
scene to spoil the dignity. And if you three ban't equal to it, we must get in
somebody else. But not police; I'm very wishful to keep professional people
out of this."
"All depends on him," said Mr. Stockman. "If he was to put up a fight,
then there'd be temper and hard knocks and fur flying, no doubt. You want
to drop on the man like a flap of lightning; but if it's going to be a rough and
tumble first, and him perhaps escaping after all, then I say get another pair
of hands, so as he will see it's no good opposing you, even if he wants to.
He must be faced with such force as will make him throw up the sponge at
once and take what you mean to give him. He must feel 'tis just as vain to
make a fuss about it as a man feels when he makes up and knows he's going
to be hanged inside the hour."
They talked thoughtfully and seriously. Arthur Chaffe lifted the minds
of them to the high issue involved and the gravity of what they purposed.
They worked objectively with the facts and had no subjective glimmering
of the reasons that lay behind the facts in the lives of those about to commit
this deed. Here was a married man deceiving a single woman—a frank
situation, that left no place in the argument for any extenuations. Dinah they
knew, and they believed their knowledge precluded the possibility of such a
character consenting to live in sin under any possible circumstances. The
man they did not know; but it was enough that he had planned this
wickedness. One who could plot thus had put himself beyond the pale.
For the rest, Robert and Jerry merely proposed to do what now appeared
a duty; while as for Mr. Chaffe, no more placable spirit ever planned how to
chasten a sinner for his own good. He was much pleased with what he had
arranged, yet desired no credit afterwards.
"We must be silent, neighbours, when all is done," he said. "Each man
will take his part, and when it is over, we will keep our mouths shut and put
it behind us. 'Unto God be the praise'; we don't want none."
CHAPTER XXXVII
SHEPHERD'S CROSS
The new cowman came on the day before Maynard left Falcon Farm
and Mr. Stockman was satisfied with his ability and intelligence. And then
came the moment when Joe shook hands and bade Lawrence farewell. All
animosity had died, for the elder was not vindictive. He pictured the
experiences that awaited his old servant and found it in his heart to be sorry
for him. Only thought of the enormity of the deed he had so deliberately
planned steeled Mr. Stockman.
"I shall hear tell of you, no doubt," were the last words that he said at
parting.
The morning dawned fine and touched with frost. The wind blew gently
from the east. There was no sting in it, but it created an inevitable haze, and
distance quickly faded under its blue-grey mantle, while at hand all shone
clear and bright in the sunrise fires. The heavy dew of a cloudless night was
not yet dried off the herbage, and the grass, nibbled to a close and springy
velvet by sheep and rabbits, spread emerald green between the masses of
heather and furze, where the lover climbed Dene Moor. Still the autumn
heath shone with passages of colour; but into the rich pink of a month
earlier had crept a russet warmth, where innumerable heather bells passed
to death with a redness that drowned the purple. As yet this new colour was
genial in tone, shone in the sunlight and glowed along the reaches of the
fading fern; but a time approached when from ruddy to sere the countless
blossoms must sink. Then the light would fade and the flowers wither, till
winter winds tinkled in their grey inflorescence and sang the song of
another dying year. Now only the splendour of their passing and the pale
gold, where brake died in patches amid the standing fern, prophesied
changes to come. A few raddled sheep browsed their morning meal and
made harmony with the bright colours of the dawn, while Maynard,
stooping, picked up the wing feather of a carrion crow and reflected that
this was the last black plume he would ever find to clean his pipe on
Dartmoor. He was sorry to leave it, but had found no time for regret until
this moment. Life had passed so swiftly and demanded so much thought
and contrivance of late, that only now he spared a few minutes to consider
all that he was leaving, and how much had been good and precious to him.
He had formed a hazy and nebulous picture of his future environment, but
knew that it could in no way resemble this. He guessed that he must often
look back, and doubted whether his future scene of life would entirely take
the place of the one he was about to leave. But he remembered Dinah's
attitude and her expressed joy that the Vale should be left behind them and
all things become new.
Now he centred upon her and again thin shadows crept through his
mind. For good or evil they had listened to their own hearts alone; but he
still found questions asking themselves and doubts limning deep in his soul
when he thought of her; he still felt a smoulder of indignation in himself
that this cup should be forced upon them. There was an ingredient of
bitterness, a dumb question why fate should have called him and Dinah to
do a thing against which he rebelled, and the doing of which was an outrage
upon her love of truth and directness. She might make light of the burden,
but he resented the fact that she was called to bear it. Such is the force of
inherited conviction and tradition that he could not, as she had done,
discredit and dismiss his past as an empty dream. She honestly so regarded
Maynard's story; otherwise he knew she would never have come to him; but
it was only for his sake that she made the sacrifice, and he felt it a cruel fact
that any sacrifice should be called for from her. His past was real enough,
and the shadow must fall on her and the children to be born of her. That the
world would never see the shadow, or know of its existence, did not matter.
For him and his wife it could never vanish. Even yet he did not perceive
that no shadow whatever existed for Dinah. The thing that still haunted him
like a fog, like the robe of the east wind hanging on the skirts of the moor,
must, he felt, be appreciated by her also, and might, indeed, grow more
solid and real for her in the future. Regret for the inevitable thus found a
place in his mind despite his reason, because it sprang from foundations
other than his reason.
Swinging forward with an ash sapling in his right hand and a leathern
portmanteau in his left, Lawrence presently saw his goal ahead. Sunshine
played over the blue hazes and touched the grey summit of Shepherd's
Cross, where the ancient stone stood erect and solitary on the heath. It
reared not far distant from rough, broken ground, where Tudor miners had
streamed the hillside for tin in Elizabethan days. The relic glimmered with
lichens, black and gold and ash colour. Upon its shaft stuck red hairs, where
roaming cattle had rubbed themselves. It stood the height of a tall man
above the water worn trough at its foot, and the cross was still perfect, with
its short, squat arms unbroken, though weathered in all its chamfering by
centuries of storm.
Here he sat down, knit his brows to scan the northern slope of the hill,
whereon Dinah must presently appear, and wondered how far she might
have already tramped upon her way. He had found his own climb from
Holne shorter than he imagined and was at their place of meeting before the
time.
Then, suddenly, behind him he heard feet shuffling and turned to see
five men spring up from their hiding-places at hand. They were familiar
faces that he saw, and for a moment no suspicion that they were here upon
his account entered the mind of Maynard. It occurred to him that Shepherd's
Cross might be a meeting-place for hounds at this early hour. Yet he did not
know that cub-hunting was yet begun. And then he marked behind the four
now beside him, the tall, thin figure of Arthur Chaffe—one who would
certainly attend no meet of hounds.
He was not left long in doubt. The men brought ropes. They closed
round him, as he rose to confront them, caught his arms, dragged him to the
cross and, with the celerity of executioners, quickly had him fast bound by
ankles and wrists against the granite—crucified thereto with his arms
extended upon the arms of the cross and a dozen coils of rope about his
shoulders, trunk and legs. John Bamsey handled one wrist and saw that his
cords bit.
Here was Mr. Chaffe's inspiration; that the erring man should be lifted
on the Christian emblem of salvation, for his heart to be taken by storm, and
for Dinah to behold the great event. He apprehended a wondrous
purification in Maynard as the result of this punishment and he hoped thai
he himself might have time to say the necessary words and utter a trumpet
note in the sinner's ear before his victim reached Shepherd's Cross.
The men had come by night and hidden as near the tryst as possible.
Now they completed their work and stood off, some grinning, some
scowling, at the prisoner. His hat had fallen and his ash sapling and his
leather bag lay together where he had sat. The light of day shone upon his
bare head and he stared at the faces round him, still dazed and silent before
the terrific surprise of their attack. But though he said nothing, others spoke
freely enough and some chaffed and some derided.
"You didn't think you was going to get chained up this morning, you
dirty, runaway dog!" said John Bamsey, while Robert Withycombe laughed.
"You ban't the first thief as have found yourself on a cross—eh, my bold
hero? Not but what a cross be almost too holy a sign to rope such a scamp
upon."
"You—you that thought you could fox an honest woman and turn her
away from an honest man! You wicked lying trash, as ought to have the
skin tanned off your bones!" roared John.
But the thunder did not make Maynard shrink. He turned his head to the
veteran and spoke.
Jerry Withycombe began to answer him, but John took the words out of
his mouth. Jerry was too mild for this occasion.
"It means that I happened to find the wrens' nest, and I told about it, and
John's sister found 'twas you plotting against Orphan Dinah and——"
"It means that all the world knows you're a married man, you blasted
wretch," stormed Johnny. "It means you kindiddled the woman away from
me with lies and cunning and thought to get her out of England and ruin
her, and then, no doubt, fling her off, like you flung off your lawful wife. It
means you're found out for what you are—the scum of the earth. And she's
going to know it, and see you where you stand, and hear where your filthy
plots and wickedness was going to land her. And if she don't sclow down
your face for you when she knows and tear your damned eyes out, she
ought to!"
Maynard looked at the furious man, but did not answer. Then Mr.
Chaffe intervened.
"That'll do, John Bamsey," he said. "Us have carried out our work in a
high spirit so far and we don't want no crooked language."
"You're right to be angered, but righteous wrath must keep its temper,
Callicott," explained Arthur. "Now hear me talk to the man and show him
how it is with him. He be dazed, as you see, and stares through us and looks
beyond, as if we was ghosts."
"He knows very well we ban't ghosts," said Jerry.
"What sort of case should he make—a man that meant to seduce another
chap's sweetheart?" asked John Bamsey.
"Hear me, and let him hear me," answered Arthur; and then he turned to
Maynard.
"You ask why we have laid in wait for you and done this," he said. "But
you know why we have done it only too well, you bad man, and the true
wonder in your mind is to guess how we found out. For well you knew that
when honest God-fearers were led by Providence to discover what you was
up to, they'd stop it in the name of the Lord. Don't stare into the sky, nor yet
over the hill for that poor woman, as you meant to destroy body and soul.
Just you turn your wits to me, Lawrence Maynard, and listen; and then tell
me before God, if you've got any just quarrel with any man among us. And
this is what you done—you knowing you was married and had a wife you'd
thrown over. You come here and make a woman care for you; but since
your watchful Maker has already opened your mouth, so that your master
heard you was married, you know you couldn't pretend to wed her honest
before men, but must hatch lies for her and make a plot. And her love was
quick, no doubt, to think nothing you could do or say was wrong, so she
consented to follow you to foreign parts, where her shame might be hid and
where she'd be in your power—to cherish or to desert according as your
fancy took you. For well you understood that she could never be no more
than your leman and at your mercy. That's what you planned, poor man; but
God in His might chose different, and willed to give you up to your fellow
creatures and led this young Jerry Withycombe to find your secret, so we
learned what you was going to do. And it is my work and ordinance that
you stand here now tied to the Cross of your Redeemer, Lawrence
Maynard. And may the cross enter into your heart and save your soul alive
yet. And then you'll see we five Christians be the willing instruments of
Heaven, and have put ourselves to this hard task for love of humanity and in
the spirit of our Master. We be here, not only to save Dinah, but to save
you; and you can say 'Amen' to that, and I hope your Father in Heaven will
touch your hard heart to bend and see what we've saved you from."
"In fact you're getting out of it a damned sight softer than you deserve,
and a damned sight softer than you would if I had my way," growled
Bamsey; but the sailor stopped him.
"Shut up, John, and let Mr. Chaffe talk," he said. "What he tells be very
fine, and us must follow his lead and take a high hand with the man."
"We're all sinners," continued Arthur, "and nobody more so than you,
John Bamsey, so I'll beg you hold in and let me do my part."
"Evils must come, but woe be to them that bring them, and you've
shown me in the past that you're a thinking creature with all your intellects,
and now you see where your doubtful thoughts and lawless opinions have
brought you. And I hope it will be a case of 'Go and sin no more,' in the
words of the Saviour of us all, Maynard. All things go round and round, you
must know. The worm gnaws the nettle that the butterfly may rise up into
the sunshine; and the butterfly rises up into the sunshine that the worm may
gnaw the nettle; but we, as have immortal souls, be called to deny and defy
nature, and lead captivity captive, and trample on the adder and the basilisk.
All which things you knew very well, yet set your face to add to the evil of
the world to please your own base passions. And you didn't care that a
young and harmless woman, who was God's business quite as much as you
yourself—you didn't care where you dragged her down, so long as you got
what you wanted, and defied principalities and powers, and lied to your
own better nature just the same as you lied to her."
"He's waiting for her to come," said Mr. Callicott. "He be going to say
his say afore the woman and don't care a damn for you, master."
"He'm in a dream," murmured Jerry. "I don't believe he's hearing what
Mr. Chaffe be pouring at him."
Then Dinah, who had long seen the group, made haste and dropped her
basket and hastened to Maynard, ignoring the rest.
Her face was scarlet and she could hardly speak for the throbbing of her
heart.
She had left her home before dawn, unknowing that another was
awaking also at Green Hayes and had heard her go. Her last act was to slip
into Benjamin Bamsey's room, where he slept alone, and kiss the
unconscious old man upon his temple. Then she had gone; and Jane had
heard her do so and seen the vague shadow of her descend the garden path
and vanish into the farm yard. Mrs. Bamsey was kept in ignorance of
Dinah's plans, but when morning came and they sat at breakfast, her
daughter informed her of all that had happened and told her that she might
expect to see her father's foster-daughter return with Mr. Chaffe in an hour
or two. Faith Bamsey took the revelation calmly enough and showed no
great emotion; while Jane roamed restlessly through the morning and
desired to see Jerry and hear of what had happened on the moor.
Now, in answer to Dinah, Maynard, who was suffering physical pain
from his position and his bonds, answered very quietly, while the men
round the pair listened to him.
"They have done what they thought was right, Dinah. They found out
that we were going to leave England together, and they heard from Mr.
Stockman that I was married. And they took a natural view and thought I
was deceiving you as to that. So they laid in wait and tied me here, until
you heard the truth."
"I know the truth," she said. "I know a deeper truth than any they can
know. I know that in God's sight——"
"Stop!" cried Arthur Chaffe. "Listen to me, Orphan Dinah, and thank
Heaven on your knees that your fellow creatures have saved you from the
evil to come."
"Did you set 'em to this dirty task—old as you are? Did you think so
badly of this man that you supposed he would try to do me harm? Did you
think there was no other side? Did you plot behind his back, when you'd
found out our simple secrets? Did you plan this cruel insult and disgrace for
one that never harmed you or anybody?"
"He harmed us all, Dinah, and I beg you'll keep your temper," answered
Arthur. "You're talking far ways short of sense and you don't know what we
saved you from."
"Be you shadows, or real people, you grinning men?" she asked, turning
upon the others. "Do you know what you've done in your clumsy, brutal
strength? Do you know you've wronged and tortured a man whose boots
you ain't worthy to black?"
"Let the man speak," said Mr. Chaffe. "I command that you speak,
Lawrence Maynard. The woman's beside herself and dead to reason. 'Tis
your bounden duty to speak for yourself."
"Loose him then and he'll speak fast enough," cried Dinah. "Who be
you—a cowardly, hulking pack of ignorant clods to lay fingers on him! If
you had sense and decency and any proper Christianity in you, you'd have
gone to work very different and spared me this wicked outrage, and him
too. You'd have come to us and bid us speak. What do you make us? Loose
him, I tell you—ban't one among you man enough to understand that I
know all there is to know about this—that it's my work we're going, my
work—me that loves him and worships him, and knows the big-hearted,
patient, honourable chap he is. God! If you could see yourselves as I see
you—meddling, nasty-minded bullies, you'd sink in the earth. Loose him
and then listen to him. You're not worth the second thought of a man like
him."
"You see how it is. Don't keep me trussed here no longer. I'm in pain
and no good can come of it. If you care to listen, then I'll speak. I'm very
glad to let you know how things are, for you've got a credit for sense; so has
Mr. Chaffe."
"It's a free country," said Mr. Callicott, "You chaps seem as if you'd
made trouble where there isn't none. Pity you didn't look into this first and
play your games after."
He opened a knife to sever the ropes that held Maynard. None attempted
to stop him save John, and then the sailor came between.
"Cut him loose, Callicott."
Mr. Chaffe was deeply dismayed and made an effort to save the
position.
"Orphan Dinah," he said, "for the love of your Saviour, and your foster-
father, and right and religion, come home with me this minute. I can't
believe what you say, for you know not what you say. Does the man deny
he's married? That's all I want to know; and if he is, then do you mean to
tell me you're going to live with him? There it is in brutal words and——"
"The brutal words are yours, because you're bound up in words and
know naught about the truth of what this means, Arthur Chaffe," answered
Maynard, who now stood free. "Do you think two people who have set out
to share their lives for evermore, didn't count the cost every way? Believe
me, we did, so understand that what seems wicked to you, ban't wicked to
us. I don't count, but Dinah does. She knows every single word of the truth,
and may I die on this stone if she doesn't."
"Come," said Dinah. "We're not called to lay our hearts bare for these
men. Let 'em know there's as good and honourable and Christian people in
the world as themselves; and if I, knowing far, far deeper than they know,
am content and proud to be your wife in God's sight for ever and ever, who
else matters, and who else shall judge? You be no more than the buzzing of
gnats to us, and there's no power in one of you to sting this man, or me."
"And haven't I thought, and don't I know a million times more than you
can, or ever will? Understand before we go. This man was never false to
any woman—never—never. He don't know the meaning of falseness. He
never looked at me, John Bamsey, till I'd left you, and I never thought of
him till long, long after I was free. And when I loved him, he told me he
could not marry me—and why—and I saw that it was moonshine and only a
pair of weak, worthless creatures would be frightened and part for that—
only cowards feared of their neighbour and the laws—laws that selfish
Christians bleat about and want kept, because to torture other people won't
hurt their comfort, or cloud their homes. What do you know of marriage—
one of you? What do you know of the dark, deadly things that may come
between people and separate 'em far as heaven from hell, while parsons and
lawyers and old bachelors and old women want 'em chained together to rot
—for Christ's sake! Look deeper—look deeper!"
While the men stood silent, Maynard picked up his stick and bag and
Dinah's basket.
Mr. Chaffe had sunk upon a stone and was wiping his eyes with a red
pocket handkerchief.
"And fear God I always shall; but not man," she answered scornfully.
"Did these chaps do this because they feared God? Ask them!"
They turned their backs upon the listeners and went away side by side;
they moved among the stones and bushes until they sank out of sight and
vanished for ever from that company.
"To hell with them!" said John, "and curse all women for the sake of
that blasted woman!"
But the rest did not share his passion. Only Mr. Chaffe mourned; the
others were impressed at what they had heard and the prize-fighter was
amused.
"A pretty parcel we look," said Callicott, "bested by that calm man and
quick-tongued woman. And be damned if I ban't their side. We don't know
naught about it, and if we did very like we'd praise 'em for a bit of pluck.
Anyway she knows what she's doing all right."
"If the Lord can read their hearts, it evidently don't much matter to them
that we can't," declared Robert Withycombe; "and be it as it will, if he was a
Turk, or Indian, the man could have two wives and no harm done. And if
there's only one Almighty, Mr. Chaffe, why for should He hold it a parlous
crime for us to do what a chap across the water can do every day of the
week?"
But Arthur Chaffe was too stricken to argue. He stared in great grief
after the vanished man and woman.
They parted presently and went their different ways, leaving Shepherd's
Cross with the sunlight on its face and the severed ropes about its foot.
CHAPTER XXXVIII
Though, before the event, Mr. Chaffe had enjoined secrecy in the matter
of Lawrence Maynard, yet, since the affair fell out so contrary, none obeyed
him. It made a good story, and though many who heard it shared Arthur's
concern, none sank into such a deep dejection as he over this trial and
failure of faith. Jane Bamsey shared John's indignation that both parties had
won their way; while her mother mourned with Mr. Chaffe over Dinah's
downfall. For the rest Robert Withycombe and Callicott, the boxer, related
their experience in many ears, and more laughed than frowned who heard
them.
She came to Falcon Farm in a condition somewhat nervous, for she had
great news for Joe and felt doubtful how he would take it. She had accepted
the hand of Harry Ford in marriage and acknowledged to herself that
propriety demanded Mr. Stockman should be the first to know her decision.
She brought a bouquet for Susan, who was returning that evening with
her husband.
"So Mr. Ford says. He's took a pretty large-minded view. In fact nobody
don't wish 'em any harm, except Jane Bamsey and her brother."
She started.