AP®︎ U.S. Government & Politics: Topic 4.9 Flashcards

Laws and administrative rules that limit or require economic activity, such as wage, safety, consumer, financial, competition, and environmental rules

Favors comparatively more regulation, progressive taxation, government spending, and intervention to promote fairness, security, and equality of opportunity

Favors fewer regulations, lower taxes, less government spending, and greater reliance on private enterprise, incentives, and individual responsibility

Favors little or no economic regulation beyond protecting property rights, enforcing contracts, preventing force or fraud, and enabling voluntary trade

A federal tax on the transfer of a qualifying estate before distribution to heirs; liberals more often support it, while conservatives and libertarians more often oppose it

A wage floor below which covered employers may not pay workers; liberals generally support it more strongly than conservatives or libertarians

Actions by Congress and the president that use government taxing and spending to influence economic conditions

Increased government spending or tax cuts intended to raise demand, output, and employment, usually during a recession

Reduced government spending or higher taxes intended to restrain demand and inflation, though potentially slowing growth and employment

The amount by which federal spending exceeds federal revenue during a single fiscal year

The accumulated total of past federal borrowing, rather than the deficit from a single year

Using government spending or tax cuts to increase aggregate demand during downturns, with reduced spending or higher taxes available to restrain inflation

Tax cuts, deregulation, and related policies intended to strengthen incentives to work, save, invest, produce, and expand economic growth

Federal Reserve actions that influence interest rates, credit, and the money supply to affect broader economic conditions

The nation’s independent central bank, which conducts monetary policy to pursue maximum employment and price stability

The Fed’s two central goals of maximum employment and price stability

Fed actions such as lowering interest rates or buying government securities to encourage borrowing, spending, investment, output, and employment

Fed actions such as raising interest rates or selling government securities to reduce borrowing and spending and restrain inflation