ISI Government Quiz

[Zmapper]

Are you more knowledgeable than the average citizen on governmental issues? Find out here.

My result: You answered 25 out of 33 correctly – 75.76 %

[corco]

You answered 25 out of 33 correctly – 75.76 %

Missed-
What was the source of the following phrase: "Government of the people, by the people, for the people" ?
The Puritans:
If taxes equal government spending, then: (really? I missed that?)
A flood-control levee (or National Defense) is considered a public good because: (really? I missed THAT?)
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas would concur that:
The Bill of Rights explicitly prohibits:
In 1935 and 1936 the Supreme Court declared that important parts of the New Deal were unconstitutional. President Roosevelt responded by threatening to:
The phrase that in America there should be a "wall of separation"  between church and state appears in:

[Takumi]

I got 26 of 33. Not bad for five minutes after waking up.

[1995hoo]

I got 30 of 33. Missed:

If taxes equal government spending, then: [I simply didn't read the answers closely enough.]
The phrase that in America there should be a "wall of separation"  between church and state appears in:
A flood-control levee (or National Defense) is considered a public good because:

[agentsteel53]

whoo hoo, 33/33.

[J N Winkler]

I did reasonably well (took the quiz after drinking my morning cup of stovetop espresso):  31 out of 33, or 93.94%.  The ones I missed were as follows:

*  Lincoln-Douglas debates--I chose "Is slavery morally wrong?" when the correct answer was "Should slavery be allowed to expand to new territories?" (a question which I had thought was settled, at least for the time being, by the Compromise of 1850)

*  Three branches of the government--I meant to choose "Executive, legislative, judicial" (which is correct) but the system says I chose "Executive, legislative, military" (a straightforward case of butter fingers, I think)

I think the question asking why a flood-control levee is a public good is flawed.  The question focuses solely on the non-excludable aspect of public goods.  In actuality, a public good is both non-rival and non-excludable:  in other words, your consumption of the good does not affect my ability to consume it (non-rival), and you cannot exclude me from consumption of the good (non-excludable).

This is not a pure civics quiz--it requires some knowledge both of history and macroeconomic theory.  The question which solicits price-taking as the reason capitalist economies are generally more successful than planned economies, as well as the general focus on economic theory, rather give away the ISI's right-wing bias.

Edit:  The public good question's silence on non-rivalry is another proof of right-wing bias.  If you do not acknowledge this aspect of the definition of a public good, you are apt to conclude that common-pool resources like coal, timber, oil, fish stocks, etc. (which are non-excludable but rivalrous) are public goods and thus to support their unlimited exploitation to the detriment of the economy and society in general.

[formulanone]

72% right...Civics and economics were never a strong point with me: Just don't get arrested and don't bounce checks, and I've been fine so far.

[yanksfan6129]

You answered 32 out of 33 correctly – 96.97 %


Question: A flood-control levee (or National Defense) is considered a public good because:
Your Answer: government pays for its construction, not citizens
Correct Answer: a resident can benefit from it without directly paying for it

So yeah, I got the levee question wrong.

[Duke87]

32 out of 33. Missed the one about the Puritans.

[english si]

I think the question asking why a flood-control levee is a public good is flawed.  The question focuses solely on the non-excludable aspect of public goods.  In actuality, a public good is both non-rival and non-excludable:  in other words, your consumption of the good does not affect my ability to consume it (non-rival), and you cannot exclude me from consumption of the good (non-excludable).

This is not a pure civics quiz--it requires some knowledge both of history and macroeconomic theory.  The question which solicits price-taking as the reason capitalist economies are generally more successful than planned economies, as well as the general focus on economic theory, rather give away the ISI's right-wing bias.

I concur, though I got the levee question right.

You answered 29 out of 33 correctly – 87.88 %. Not bad for a Limey!

• What was the source of the following phrase: "Government of the people, by the people, for the people" ?
  The real answer is none of the above! But I guess your history doesn't go as far back as far as the 14th century and the preface to the first complete Bible in English (though the form in the answer they want is a slight misquote of Wycliffe).
  
• In 1935 and 1936 the Supreme Court declared that important parts of the New Deal were unconstitutional. President Roosevelt responded by threatening to:
  I gave Franklin the benefit of the doubt and went with the least inflammatory answer. Turns out he disliked the Constitution more than I thought, though there were more extreme Presidentocracy answers there that he didn't take.
  
• Free markets typically secure more economic prosperity than government's centralized planning because:
  I consider my answer valid (if not more right) - there's no one single answer to this.
  
• What was the main issue in the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in 1858?
  I guessed wrong, but heh, my country had ended slavery 50 years before that, so this isn't a bit of history we pick up (and it is the question answered correctly by the lowest amount of American non-politicians, beating the Puritans by 0.04%)

I take it with the Puritans one, no one's going for the obviously silly Catholic or Mormon (Utah, Brigham Young) answers - not if you can get a decent score on the rest of the quiz.

[jdb1234]

27/33 for me

[Duke87]

I take it with the Puritans one, no one's going for the obviously silly Catholic or Mormon (Utah, Brigham Young) answers - not if you can get a decent score on the rest of the quiz.

I gave the answer about opposing wars. When you think about it, the correct answer is the one that in fact makes the most sense. But for some reason I was biased against wanting to label a group as "stressing the sinfullness of all mankind", I guess because it makes them sound like religious fanatics (although, they were...)

[DeaconG]

31 out of 33...93.94%

The ones I missed:

    Question: Free markets typically secure more economic prosperity than government's centralized planning because:
        Your Answer: more tax revenue can be generated from free enterprise
        Correct Answer: the price system utilizes more local knowledge of means and ends

    Question: In 1935 and 1936 the Supreme Court declared that important parts of the New Deal were unconstitutional. President Roosevelt responded by threatening to:
        Your Answer: impeach several Supreme Court justices
        Correct Answer: appoint additional Supreme Court justices who shared his views (I should have known this!)

[hobsini2]

I got 31 out of 33. Missed on 2 of the economic ones at the end.