How Did the Great Depression Change American Attitudes About Welfare

question 52

Multiple Choice

How did the Great Depression change American attitudes about welfare?

• A) It showed that the government could efficiently distribute public assistance.
• B) It demonstrated that the government could choose between the deserving and undeserving poor in a more objective manner than private charities.
• C) It revealed that poverty could be caused by a flawed economic system, not just by personal irresponsibility.
• D) It revealed that local governments were too corrupt to be trusted with welfare policies.
• E) It showed that government was not as capable of taking care of the poor as private charities.

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Definitions:

Future Self

The concept of envisioning oneself in the future, often used in psychology and financial planning to motivate current actions that benefit one's future.

Precommitments

Actions or commitments made in advance to strategically constrain one's future actions or choices, often used to achieve a desired outcome.

Utility Maximization

The principle that individuals or firms aim to achieve the highest level of satisfaction or benefit from their choices, given their resources.

Opportunity Cost

is the value of the best alternative forgone when a choice is made between competing options, representing the trade-offs associated with every decision.