Exam 29: Staffing and Financing State and Local Governments

________ usually ask(s) state courts to enforce provisions in state constitutions requiring state governments to guarantee a "sound basic education," an "ample" education, or some other minimal or adequate level of education to all children in the state.

In which of the following areas do state and local governments spend most of their funds?

A property tax bill typically includes fees or taxes charged by three, four, or more government units, such as the city, county, school board, water utility, and other special districts.

Tolls and fees collected by a special-purpose government or a special district are defined as

_______________ limited the activities of federal, state, and local employees whose salaries were supported by federal funds.

By far the greatest number of state and local government employees are hired through

Throughout much of the nineteenth century, governments at all levels were dominated by political patronage, a political phenomenon defined as a(n) ________ in which employment was a reward for partisan loyalty and active political support.

Alaska does NOT rely heavily on severance tax like Wyoming does.

The general property tax is an unstable, unpredictable source of funding for local governments.

Which one of the following was legislation aimed at halting political patronage in America?

Rather than relying on their own employees, many state and local governments have "contracted out" public services to private sector organizations, including for-profit corporations as well as nonprofit agencies, in a practice called

Health programs and elementary and secondary education absorb ________ percent of all state and local spending at the state and local levels.

The valuation a government places on property for the purposes of taxation is defined as

Stocks, bonds, and money in the bank are all examples of

In 2006, per capita income was higher than $50,000 in which state?

According to the text, criteria for a "good tax" includes all of the following EXCEPT

State and local ________ are attractive to investors because the interest they earn is exempt from federal income tax.

Although education does use much of the state funds, Medicaid uses the most federal funds.

By _________, personnel systems public managers may be able to get the people they really need.

Born during the Great Depression, the _______ is the most important source of revenue for states, which collected more than $352 billion in 2007.