| What is a means-tested program? | A government policy that applies to people based on whether they qualify according to a quantitative measure, such as income level. |
| What is Medicaid? | A government program, co-funded by the federal government and state governments, that provides basic health insurance to the poor. |
| What is Medicare? | A federal government program that provides basic health insurance to the elderly. |
| What is the No Child Left Behind Act? | A federal policy established in 2001 that links education funding levels to learning standards for states and local school districts. |
| What is social policy? | Government actions intended to provide a basic level of assistance with income, safety, education, housing, and health care for certain categories of people at risk. |
| What is Social Security? | A federal government program that provides basic income assistance to retired elderly people and the disabled. |
| What is the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP)? | A federal government program that provides coupons for poor people to buy food, formerly known as the Food Stamp program. |
| What is Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)? | A federal government program that provides temporary income assistance to the poor. |
| What is the welfare state? | The programs of the government devoted to social policies. |
| What is domestic policy? | Public plans or courses of action that concern internal issues of national importance, such as poverty, health care, and the environment. |
| What is the earned income tax credit (EITC) program? | A government program that helps low-income workers by giving back part or all of their Social Security taxes. |
| What is energy policy? | Laws concerned with how much energy is needed and used. |
| What is an environmental impact statement (EIS)? | A report that must show the costs and benefits of major federal actions that could significantly affect the quality of the environment. |
| What are food stamps? | Benefits issued by the federal government to low-income individuals to be used for the purchase of food; originally provided as coupons, but now typically provided electronically through a card similar to a debit card. |
| What is an in-kind subsidy? | The phrase ''in-kind'' means provided in a form other than money. Typical in-kind benefits provided by governments are subsidized housing, specific infrastructure (like a road servicing a single mine or factory), the services required to maintain that infrastructure, and various services to help exporters. |
| What is an income transfer? | A transfer of income from some individuals in the economy to others, generally by government action. |
| What is national health insurance? | A plan under which the government provides basic health care coverage to all citizens. Most such plans are funded by taxes on wages or salaries. |
| What is a single-payer plan? | A plan under which one entity has a monopoly on issuing a particular type of insurance. Typically, the entity is the government, and the insurance is basic health coverage. |
| What is Supplemental Security Income (SSI)? | A federal program established to provide assistance to elderly persons and persons with disabilities. |
| Define sustainability. | Achieving a balance between society and nature that will permit both to exist in harmony. |