1. In absolute dollar terms, what has happened to U.S. government spending over the last 50 years? What about in relative terms?

A.) In both absolute and relative terms, spending has steadily increased

B.) In both absolute and relative terms, spending has steadily decreased

C.) In absolute terms, spending has steadily increased while in relative terms it has remained fairly stable

D.) In absolute terms, spending has steadily decreased while in relative terms it has steadily increased

E.) In absolute terms, spending has remained fairly stable, while in relative terms it has steadily increased

2. In absolute dollar terms, what has happened to US government tax collections over the last 50 years? What about in relative terms?

A.) In both absolute and relative terms, tax collections have steadily increased

B.) In both absolute and relative terms, tax collections have steadily decreased

C.) In absolute terms, tax collections have steadily increased while in relative terms it has remained fairly stable

D.) In absolute terms, tax collections have steadily decreased while in relative terms it has steadily increased

E.)In absolute terms, tax collections have remained fairly stable, while in relative terms it has steadily increased

3. As a percentage of total taxes collected, what has happened over the last 60 years to the amount collected from individual income taxes versus taxes on corporate profits?

A.) Both have remained relatively unchanged over that time frame.

B.) Both have risen steadily (income taxes from 20% to 30%, and corporate profits taxes from 45% to 55%)

C.) Individual income taxes have fallen modestly (from 40% to 30%) while corporate profit taxes have risen significantly (from 40% to 60%)

D.) Individual income taxes have risen modestly (from 40% to 50%) while corporate profit taxes have dropped significantly (from 30% to 7%)

E.) Individual income taxes have dropped significantly (from 40% to 20%) while corporate profit taxes have increased slightly (from 30% to 40%).

4. It is currently estimated that over the next 10 years, the US budget deficit will ____ and US Government debt will ______.

A.) gradually begin to shrink; continue to grow larger

B.) gradually begin to shrink; remain where it is today

C.) remain where it is today; gradually begin to shrink

D.) continue to grow larger; gradually begin to shrink

E.) continue to grow larger; continue to grow larger

5. Suppose that the following agencies are all holding government bonds from the hypothetical government of Alphaland.

• The social security administration of Alphaland holds $15 million
• State and local governments of Alphaland hold $30 million
• Private citizens and businesses of Alphaland hold $45 million
• Commercial banks of Alphaland hold $10 million
• Private citizens and businesses of Betaland hold $7 million
• The government of Betaland holds $3 million

Based off that information, what is the Total Gross Debt of Alphaland, its Intragovernmental Holdings, and its Debt Held by the Public?

A.) Gross Total Debt is $110 million; Intragovernmental Holdings are $15 million; Debt Held by the Public is $95 million

B.) Gross Total Debt is $110 million; Intragovernmental Holdings are $45 million; Debt Held by the Public is $65 million

C.) Gross Total Debt is $110 million; Intragovernmental Holdings are $48 million; Debt Held by the Public is $62 million

D.) Gross Total Debt is $100 million; Intragovernmental Holdings are $15 million; Debt Held by the Public is $85 million

E.) Gross Total Debt is $100 million; Intragovernmental Holdings are $45 million; Debt Held by the Public is $55 million

6. For fiscal year ending 2019, the US government spent roughly $375 billion on interest paymentsinterest it owed on its debt. Unless the US government wishes to default on its debt obligations, it is required to pay this interest this year. This represents what type of spending?

A.) Discretionary spending

B.) Mandatory spending

C.) Deliberate spending

D.) Accidental spending

7. The largest source of mandatory spending is _____ while the largest source of discretionary spending is _______.

A.) national defense; agriculture

B.) Medicare; education; training; and employment services

C.) social security; Medicare

D.) national defense; transportation

.E.) social security; national defense

8. As of this writing (spring of 2020), the United States is in the beginning stages of what is predicted to be a massive recession. As a result, what we can expect to happen to government spending, tax collections, and deficit and debt levels?

A.) Government spending and tax collections will both rise; the impact on the deficit and debt are not clear

B.) Government spending and tax collections will both fall; the impact on the deficit and debt are not clear

C.) Government spending will fall and tax collections will rise; the deficit and debt should both get smaller

D.) Government spending will rise and tax collections will fall; the deficit and debt should both grow larger

9. What can we say about relative US government spending and tax collections, when comparing it to other advanced, developed economies? Relative to economic size, the U.S. spends _____ most other similar countries, and it collects _______ in tax revenues.

A.) more than; more than

B.) more than; less than

C.) the same as; the same as

D.) less than; less than

E.) less than; more than

10. For the next four questions (10,11,12,13) , use the following information:

• Econland is a hypothetical country that uses the dollar as its currency
• For the last fiscal year, the Econland government spent $600 million, and collected $650 million in taxes
• At the beginning of the year, the Econland government had a total debt of $800 million
• Econland's total real GDP for the year was $2,250 million

For the fiscal year, we would say that the Econland government experienced a ________.

A.) balanced budget

B.) budget surplus of $650 million

C.) budget surplus of $50 million

D.) budget deficit of $600 million

e.) budget deficit of $800 million

11. What happened to Econland's government debt during the year? Total government debt _____.

A.) remained the same

B.) decreased by $50 million

C.) decreased by $650 million

D.) increased by $50 million

E.) increased by $600 million

12. At the end of the fiscal year, what is Econland's new total government debt?

A.) $2,200 million

B.) $1,400 million

C.) $850 million

D.) $750 million

E.) $150 million

13. At the end of the fiscal year, what is Econland's total government debt-to-GDP ratio?

A.) 380%

B.) 81.25%

C.) 33.33%

D.) 26.67%

E.) 2.2%

14. Use the following information for the next two questions (14 AND 15) :

• The government of Spendlotsvia has total outstanding debt of $150 million
• The government of Frugalia has a total outstanding debt of $300 million

What can we say about the fiscal health of these two countries?

A.) Spendlotsvia's fiscal health is clearly better than that of Frugalia's

B.) Frugalia's fiscal health is clearly better than that of Spendlotsvia's

C.) Spendlotsvia is paying more interest per year on its debt than Frugalia

D.) Citizens of Spendlotsvia are living a better life on average than Frugalia, since its total government debt is lower

E.) We can't make any judgments about the fiscal health of either country without more information

15. Consider the same two countries above. Now suppose that real GDP for Spendlotsvia was $200 million, while real GDP for Frugalia was $900 million. Does this change your answer from above?

A.) Yes, Furgalia's fiscal health is clearly better because their debt to GDP ratio is much lower

B.) No, Frugalia's fiscal health is still clearly better because their debt to GDP ratio is much higher

C.) No, Frugalia has twice as much debt and is therefore clearly in worse financial shape

D.) Yes, the fiscal health of both countries are the same because the debt to GDP ratio for both countries is the same

E.) No, Spendlotsvia has lower GDP so they are in better fiscal shape

NOTE: There are 15 multiple-choice questions I am so confused on that so please help me with that I really need help, and I'll appreciate your help. Thank you.