Government Budgets and Fiscal Policy (Economics)

Recall cards on government budgets and fiscal policy. Federal spending: its size relative to GDP, its largest categories, and how education is funded mainly at the state and local level. Taxation: the individual income tax, payroll tax, corporate income tax, excise tax, and estate and gift tax, and the difference between progressive, proportional, and regressive taxes. Budget deficits, surpluses, balanced budgets, the national debt, and how they differ. Using expansionary and contractionary fiscal policy to shift aggregate demand and fight recession, unemployment, and inflation. Automatic stabilizers versus discretionary fiscal policy, the standardized employment budget, the recognition, legislative, and implementation lags, crowding out, and the debate over a balanced-budget amendment.