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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. When Poverty, by America was written, how many American workers belonged to a union?

2. In 2016, how many lobbyists did Uber have working in 44 states?

3. In 2019, what was the percent of the U.S. population that was poor?

4. In a survey of men and women released from prison in Massachusetts, what percent had witnessed a murder as children?

5. In the past 50 years, by what percent had infant mortality rates and deaths from heart disease fallen?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Crystal Mayberry's life like and why did she become homeless?

2. What were Julio Payes's days like and why?

3. What is the Official Poverty Measure?

4. What were some statistics that revealed how bad poverty was in America?

5. Why did Desmond believe poverty was physical pain?

6. Why did many people applying for Supplement Security Income (SSI) hire a lawyer?

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

8. Did raising the minimum wage cause unemployment?

9. Where did Desmond grow up?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The prevailing theory was that giving aid to the poor made them lazy. Why did Desmond call this the “propaganda of capitalism” (85), and was it true that giving aid to the poor made them lazy?

Essay Topic 2

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 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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