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WorksheetsPublic Affairs 1000
Total questions: 82
Worksheet time: 1hrs 4mins
How does government cover expenditures?
By relying solely on voluntary donations
A combination of mandatory spending, discretionary spending, and net interest spending
Only through discretionary spending set annually
By printing money to eliminate budget gaps
Which are common forms of revenue for governments?
Tariffs only
Taxes, fees and charges, fines, and profits from government‑owned entities
Crowdfunding campaigns
Foreign aid grants only
How do revenue sources differ across federal, state, and local governments?
All levels rely primarily on sales taxes
Federal relies on income/payroll taxes; state on sales/income plus federal aid; local on property taxes and fees
States rely exclusively on property taxes; federal relies on sales taxes; local relies on income taxes
Local governments rely on tariffs and export duties
What is the difference between enterprise and non‑enterprise funded services?
Enterprise services are tax‑supported, while non‑enterprise services charge user fees
Enterprise funds act like government‑run businesses, while non‑enterprise services are tax‑supported public services
Both are financed entirely through federal grants
Non‑enterprise services rely on bond profits
How do income, sales, property, and sin (excise) taxes work?
Income taxes apply to purchases; sales taxes apply to earnings; property taxes are levied on income; excise taxes target necessities
Income taxes are based on earnings; sales taxes apply to purchases; property taxes are levied on land/buildings; excise (sin) taxes target harmful goods like alcohol/tobacco
All of these taxes are flat fees unrelated to income or property
Property taxes apply only to vehicles; excise taxes apply only to services
Why are sales taxes considered regressive?
They exempt luxury goods
They impose higher rates on higher‑income households
Lower‑income households spend a larger share of their income on taxed goods
They apply only to untaxed items
What are common limits on local government property taxes?
Unlimited rates and assessments
Local property taxes are limited by state caps on rates, assessments, or growth to protect taxpayers
Only federal law limits local property taxes
Local property taxes are banned in most states
How do intergovernmental transfers work?
They are private donations to governments
Financial flows between levels of government that can be categorical, block, or general‑purpose and help deliver services when local tax bases are limited
Only loans between states
Transfers only occur during recessions
How does federal debt work when expenditures exceed revenues?
The government raises sales taxes immediately
It sells bonds to the public, uses the proceeds, and repays them over time with interest
The Treasury prints currency to cancel deficits
It freezes all discretionary programs until revenues rise
What is the debt ceiling?
A statutory limit on how much debt the country can take on
The maximum interest rate the Treasury can pay
The cap on state borrowing
A constitutional ban on deficits
How do municipal bonds function?
They are donations to local governments
They are obligations that entitle owners to periodic interest payments and repayment of principal at a specific date; governments borrow and investors earn interest
They are equity shares in city utilities
They are tax bills issued to residents
Why are municipal bonds often attractive to investors?
They guarantee double‑digit returns
Interest is often tax‑free, bonds are relatively safe, and they provide steady income for portfolio diversification
They are backed by gold reserves
They are short‑term instruments with no risk
What are common uses of municipal bonds?
Speculative stock purchases
Schools and universities; roads and bridges; water and sewer systems; hospitals and public housing
International travel subsidies
Political campaign financing
What is the nature of budgets described in the worksheet?
They are highly flexible and change radically each year
They are sticky and move incrementally
They are set once and never revised
They are entirely zero‑based by default
What is the traditional approach to budgeting?
Start from zero annually
Use last year’s budget to start the budget process
Base on revenue projections only
Adopt performance targets without financial baselines
What is a common problem with incremental budgeting?
It quickly eliminates inefficiency
It may prevent fully addressing problems and creates incentives not to address inefficiency
It requires zero‑based review annually
It bans capital projects
What is performance‑based budgeting?
Budgeting solely on political priorities
Budgeting that ties funding to measured performance outcomes to encourage accountability
Budgeting that eliminates all program metrics
Budgeting based only on prior‑year expenditures
Which is an advantage of performance‑based budgeting?
Discourages measurement
Encourages accountability and incentivizes performance, helping identify where money is wasted
Eliminates program evaluation
Reduces transparency
Which is a disadvantage of performance‑based budgeting noted in the worksheet?
Easy to measure all performance cheaply
Can be counterintuitive; measuring performance can be difficult, time‑consuming, and costly to implement
Guarantees efficient outcomes
Requires no data collection
What is zero‑based budgeting?
Maintaining prior allocations automatically
Starting from a baseline of zero and justifying all expenses
Only funding capital projects
Basing budgets solely on tax revenue growth
Which is an advantage of zero‑based budgeting?
Promotes efficiency and cost‑efficiency while increasing accountability and communication
Eliminates accountability requirements
Requires minimal review effort
Automatically increases all program funding
Which is a disadvantage of zero‑based budgeting?
Quick and effortless
Time‑consuming and exhaustive
Prohibits citizen input
Increases waste by design
What is participatory budgeting?
Budgeting restricted to elected officials
A process involving citizen participation to align spending with community needs and build public trust
A method that bans community input
A federal mandate for all cities
Which is an advantage of participatory budgeting listed in the worksheet?
Reduces public trust
Fosters public trust, ensures spending aligns with community needs, and increases citizen understanding
Eliminates communication with residents
Automatically increases tax revenues
Which is a disadvantage of participatory budgeting listed in the worksheet?
No administrative costs
Costs associated with managing citizen involvement; potential for politicization; process can be difficult
Guaranteed consensus every cycle
Requires no staff time
What is the difference between mandatory and discretionary spending?
Mandatory is set annually; discretionary is permanent
Mandatory programs are authorized by law with defined purposes and rules and do not change annually; discretionary programs are funded through annual appropriations legislation
Both are determined by executive order
Mandatory spending is only defense; discretionary is only social programs
Which programs are identified as mandatory in the worksheet?
Foreign aid and highways
Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, unemployment insurance, and federal civilian/military retirement benefits
NASA and national parks
Only state pension funds
Which statement best reflects the relative shares of federal spending in FY2025?
Mandatory ≈26%, Discretionary ≈60%, Net Interest ≈14%
Mandatory ≈60%, Discretionary ≈26%, Net Interest ≈14%, total spending about $7 trillion
Mandatory ≈14%, Discretionary ≈60%, Net Interest ≈26%
All categories were equal shares
What is the role of the President and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the federal budgeting process?
Congress drafts the budget and OMB approves it
The President sets priorities through the budget proposal; OMB manages details, coordinates agency requests, shapes the proposal, and oversees spending after Congress acts
OMB sets tax rates while the President enforces them
States submit budgets directly to OMB for approval
What is the role of Congress in the federal budgeting process?
Congress only reviews agency requests
Congress debates, sets priorities, and passes laws that determine how money is spent; the President proposes, but Congress decides
Congress writes the President’s proposal without changes
Congress cannot change appropriations
What is budget reconciliation and why is it important?
A process to revise only local budgets
A Senate process allowing certain tax, spending, and debt‑limit bills to pass with a simple majority (51 votes), bypassing the usual 60‑vote filibuster, aligning laws with the budget resolution
A rule requiring unanimous consent for all bills
A House procedure to delay appropriations indefinitely
What is the major limit to reconciliation (Byrd Rule)?
Only defense provisions are allowed
Only provisions that directly affect federal spending or revenue are allowed
All policy riders are permitted
It applies only to state budgets
Why is the national debt so high according to the worksheet?
Revenue consistently outpaces spending
Spending outpaces revenue year after year, driven by entitlement programs, defense, tax cuts, interest costs, and emergency measures
Only because of municipal bonds
Because states refuse federal transfers
What is impoundment in the federal context?
A court order to raise taxes
When the President (or executive branch) refuses to spend money that Congress has appropriated, withholding or delaying legally approved funds for programs or agencies
A requirement to spend all appropriations immediately
The term for bond repayment
Is presidential impoundment legal as described in the worksheet?
Yes; the President can unilaterally impound funds at any time
Since 1974, the President cannot unilaterally impound money; only Congress can authorize changes
It is legal only for defense spending
It is legal only during emergencies
What is the general nature of local government budgets?
They are unbalanced and project‑focused
Balanced, tax‑dependent, service‑oriented plans that fund essential community needs through annual cycles with separate operating and capital components
They rely exclusively on federal aid and have no capital plans
They change only once per decade
Do local budgeting practices fit a single model across communities?
Yes; all localities follow identical practices
No; differences come from population, tax base, state laws, and community needs
Yes; state mandates ensure uniform budgeting
Only large cities differ, small towns are identical
What are some challenges in local budgeting identified in the worksheet?
Unlimited revenue and falling costs
Limited revenue, rising costs, unfunded mandates, and unequal resources across communities
Guaranteed equal resources statewide
Declining service demands
How do Operations and Maintenance (O&M) compare with Capital Improvements?
O&M covers big, long‑term projects; Capital covers ongoing short‑term costs
O&M covers ongoing, short‑term costs to keep things running; Capital improvements are big, long‑term projects that build or upgrade assets
Both are only for utilities
Capital improvements are purely administrative costs
In Columbia, MO, what are common sources of city revenue?
Tariffs and customs duties
Property and sales taxes, fees, charges, and enterprise revenues
Only federal block grants
Tourism taxes exclusively
In Columbia, MO, which are examples of enterprise spending?
Police and parks
Utilities, transit, and airport
Administration and fire services
Public education
In Columbia, MO, which are examples of non‑enterprise spending?
Utilities and transit
Police, fire, parks, and administration
Airport operations and water treatment
Bond repayments only
What is PILOT revenue described in the worksheet?
A federal aviation grant
Payment in Lieu of Taxes: revenue from city‑owned utilities that transfer part of earnings to the general fund instead of paying property taxes
A sales tax holiday program
A tourism surcharge
What is program evaluation?
A process to increase taxes
It involves understanding programs, goals, logic, and choosing what part to evaluate
A method to cancel programs automatically
Only a financial audit
What is the purpose of program evaluation?
To justify existing spending regardless of results
To determine whether a program is accomplishing goals and whether it should be expanded, ended, or adjusted
To set tax rates for the next fiscal year
To measure public opinion only
According to the worksheet, which items are steps in conducting a program evaluation? Select all that apply.
Understand the program
Identify the logic of the program
Which statement best distinguishes program evaluation from policy analysis?
What does it mean that all policies and programs are hypotheses?
What is the logic of the D.A.R.E. program as described in the worksheet?
When evaluating a program, what is the difference between assessing outcomes versus processes?
Which of the following methods are quantitative measures of evaluation? Select all that apply.
Experiments
Correlations
What happens after a program evaluation according to the worksheet?
Why do we still have D.A.R.E. according to the worksheet?
For the King County Needle Exchange Program, what is the program’s purpose?
What is the logic of the King County Needle Exchange Program?
What is a non-profit organization according to the worksheet?
How does government play a role in the context described?
Influencing funding sources
Setting corporate hiring quotas
Providing volunteer labor as its primary function
Eliminating non-profits through regulation
Which potential solutions are presented by the National Council for Nonprofits? Select all that apply.
Compensated-related strategies
Culture-related strategies
Operational-related strategies
Social sector-related strategies
Profit-maximization strategies
How is government involved in these solutions?
Through policy solutions
Through private donations
Through corporate recruitment programs
Through unpaid volunteerism only
Where do non-profits get funding from? Select all that apply.
Individual donations
Corporate contributions
Foundation grants
Fees for service
Government grants
Where do non-profits get funding from? Select all that apply.
Membership fees
Government bond interest
Crowdfunding lotteries
In-kind volunteer hours counted as cash
Advertising tax rebates
Which statements identify differences between grants and contracts? Select all that apply.
Grants fund activities that benefit the public
Contracts procure goods and services for the government’s direct use
Grants are solely for purchasing equipment
Contracts are charitable gifts without deliverables
Grants always require repayment like loans
Which types of non-profits are funded by government? Select all that apply.
Arts, culture, humanities
Education
Environmental
Luxury retail associations
Private equity funds
Which types of non-profits are funded by government? Select all that apply.
Animal
Health
Human Services
Political action committees
Professional sports franchises
What are the problems and limits to grants and contracts? Select all that apply.
Grants can be difficult to apply for and are less flexible in funding amounts
Contracts are more risky and put more responsibility on the sponsor
Grants always provide unlimited flexible funding
Contracts remove all responsibility from the sponsor
Grants and contracts are identical in requirements
What is the Columbia, MO Opportunity Campus and how does it reflect a public–non-profit partnership?
It provides shelter, healthcare, and other services to alleviate homelessness
It is a private mall development led by retail companies
It is a corporate training center for technology firms
It is a tourist attraction operated by a for-profit vendor
Who are the actors involved in the Columbia, MO Opportunity Campus? Select all that apply.
Voluntary Action Center (local non-profit)
The City of Columbia
The State of Missouri
A national for-profit chain
Private venture capital consortium
What are the sources of funding for the Columbia, MO Opportunity Campus? Select all that apply.
Part of COMOs ARPA funding
State and local government funding through grants matched by local contributions
Private venture capital equity
International bond syndication
Cryptocurrency donations as the main source
Why didn’t Columbia and Boone County just do it themselves?
The voluntary action center already had the means to provide this resource
There was no need for the services in the community
They were legally prohibited from collaborating with non-profits
They chose to invest solely in sports facilities
What does it mean for a service to be public?
Provided, funded, or controlled by government to benefit all citizens in a community, funded by taxpayers
Provided exclusively by private firms to maximize profit
Offered only to members who pay market rates
Operated by volunteers with no government involvement
Which statement reflects ownership or public influence in a public service?
Funded by taxpayers
Funded by corporate advertising
Owned by a private monopoly
Financed through user-only membership fees
What is the difference between privatization and contracting with a private organization?
Privatization involves infrastructure and property owned or held by private organizations, not merely contracted for delivery
Contracting means the government sells all assets to a private firm
Privatization is identical to short-term service contracts
Contracting requires private ownership of all public infrastructure
What are the advantages and disadvantages noted for privatization?
It can be more efficient but risks low accountability
It guarantees perfect accountability with no efficiency trade-offs
It eliminates all public costs without oversight concerns
It is always less efficient and more accountable
What is a natural monopoly?
A market in which one firm naturally dominates because of high fixed costs and low marginal cost, making it sensible for one firm to own the whole market
A market controlled by government through price ceilings
A competitive market with many small firms and identical products
A temporary cartel formed by firms during recessions
Why does this potentially increase state influence?
It makes it more difficult for private companies to compete
It encourages more private market entry
It reduces regulatory oversight
Why would this potentially lead to better outcomes?
The state can set prices lower than a regular company would
Private firms can charge higher tolls to recover costs
What is municipal broadband?
High-speed internet offered by public entities
A discount program for private internet providers
What role can local governments play in expanding broadband access?
They can partner with private companies
They can only lobby state legislators
What is a public‑private partnership (PPP)?
A long‑term collaboration between a government and a private company to finance, build, and operate public infrastructure or services
A short‑term consulting contract for policy advice
Which strategies can alleviate administrative burdens?
Automatic enrollment
Simplifying eligibility requirements
Increasing marketing and awareness efforts
What are potential benefits of using AI in government?
Faster service delivery and cost savings
Guaranteed elimination of all biases
What are potential drawbacks of using AI in government?
Bias
Privacy concerns
