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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many premature deaths did a study find could have been prevented in New York City from 2008 to 2012 if the city's minimum wage had been $15 an hour?

2. When Crystal was diagnosed with mental illness, how much SSI did she receive monthly?

3. In 2020 of every dollar budgeted for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), how much did poor families receive directly?

4. Where did Desmond go to graduate school?

5. When Crystal could no longer live with her mother, how long did she live with an aunt?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was Crystal Mayberry born prematurely?

2. Why are there millions more Americans in poverty than official statistics reveal?

3. Had poverty gotten worse because spending was reduced?

4. Where did Desmond grow up?

5. Did raising the minimum wage cause unemployment?

6. What happened when poor workers received a pay raise?

7. Why did Desmond believe poverty was physical pain?

8. Why did it seem unimaginable that the U.S. had made so little progress in poverty reduction?

9. What is the Official Poverty Measure?

10. How did poverty affect Desmond's former roommate Woo?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Since the beginning of American history, immigrants had been blamed for economic troubles. Why were immigrants blamed for economic troubles, and what long-term impact did immigration have on wages and employment?

Essay Topic 2

Desmond narrated information about poverty and its effects based on personal experience and research in Poverty, by America. Was he a trustworthy or untrustworthy narrator?

Essay Topic 3

Choices individuals made to improve their wealth or financial situation, could negatively impact the poor. What was structural immorality, and how did the advantages of the rich often come at the expense of the poor either through bigotry and selfishness or good intentions?

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