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Definition
| policies that provide benefits to individuals, either through entitlements or means testing |
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| government benefits that certain qualified individuals are entitled to by law, regardless of need |
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Definition
| government programs available only to individuals below a poverty line |
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Definition
| the "shares" of the national income earned by various groups |
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Definition
| the amount of funds collected between any two points of time |
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Definition
| the value of assets owned |
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| a method used to count the number of poor people, it considers what a family must spend for an "austere" standard of living |
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| the increasing concentration of poverty among women, especially unmarried women and their children |
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| a tax by which the government taxes a greater share of the income of the rich than the poor-- for example, when a rich family pays 50% of its income taxes, and a poor family pays 5% |
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Definition
| a tax by which the government takes the same share of income from everyone, rich and poor alike--for example, when both a rich family and a poor family pay 20% |
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Definition
| a tax in which the burden falls relatively more heavily on low-income groups than on wealthy taxpayers. the opposite of a progressive tax, in which tax rates increase as income increases |
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Definition
| a "negative income tax" that provides income to very poor individuals in lieu of charging them federal income taxes |
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Definition
| benefits given by the government directly to individuals. it may either be cash transfers, such as social security payments and retirement payments to former government employees, or in-kind transfers, such as food stamps and low-interest loans for college education |
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Term
| Social Security Act of 1935 |
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Definition
| Created both the Social Security Program and a national assistance program for poor children usually called AFDC |
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| Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act |
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Definition
| the official name of the welfare reform law of 1996 |
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| Temporary Assistance for Needy Families |
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Definition
| once called "aid to families with dependent children" the new name for public assistance to needy families |
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Term
| social security trust fund |
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Definition
| the "bank account" into which Social Security contributions are "deposited" and used to pay out eligible recipients |
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