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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. Growing up in a severely disadvantaged neighborhood was equivalent to missing how much school?

2. In what state did nearly everyone eligible for food stamps enroll?

3. In studies conducted in the 1980s and 1990s, within what amount of time did young mothers on welfare quit relying on it?

4. In 2020, what was the tax burden for the poorest individuals with incomes at or below $9,875?

5. In 2020, how much was the gap that separated everyone in America below the poverty line and the poverty line itself?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did statistics show about the tax rate for all Americans?

2. At the beginning of Chapter 6, what examples did Desmond provide to show how rich Americans were at the time the book was written?

3. What were some ways social scientists and policymakers attempted to move low-income families to promising neighborhoods?

4. In what way were individuals considered to be above the poverty line dependent upon the government?

5. What were some excuses for the rising housing costs, and what did Desmond believe caused the rising housing costs?

6. How did corporations avoid paying the taxes they owed?

7. What were arguments about the negative effects of government support for the poor based upon?

8. What did Leo Tolstoy believe caused the horrible poverty he saw in Moscow?

9. What challenges faced individuals who had bad credit or no credit score?

10. What was a main reason why low-income Americans were not taking full advantage of government programs?

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

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?

(see the answer keys)

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