Vocabulary Quiz (Money & Work)

Question: What does gig mean in the term gig economy?

Answer: Merriam-Webster defines the gig economy as “economic activity that involves the use of temporary or freelance workers to perform jobs typically in the service sector”; musicians have long played “gigs.”

Question: Which of the following is true about the famous “Cross of Gold” speech?

Answer: All of these are true about William Jennings Bryan’s famed “Cross of Gold” speech, delivered at the Democratic National Convention of 1896.

Question: Which amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted the U.S. Congress the power to impose a federal income tax?

Answer: The Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1913, grants Congress the authority to levy a federal income tax, the largest source of government funding today.

Question: Which term best describes a monetary system based on the worth of two metals?

Answer: A bimetallic monetary system uses two metals, usually silver and gold, as the basis for currency and exchange.

Question: Which of the following is true about the “996 workweek”?

Answer: All of these are associated with the controversial 996 workweek.

Question: Who is credited with coining the term gig economy?

Answer: The term gig economy was coined and explained by journalist and editor Tina Brown in a 2009 article published by The Daily Beast.

Question: What is fiat money?

Answer: Fiat money is currency declared to be legal money by a government decree or “fiat”; it is not backed by (or exchangeable for) a physical commodity like gold or silver; its value stems from trust in the government, economic stability, and a central bank’s management of the supply and demand for the currency.

Question: In the United States, which generation participates the most in the gig economy?

Answer: Among generations, millennials contribute the most (45 percent) to the gig economy.

Question: “UBI” is a much-discussed economic topic. What is it?

Answer: UBI (universal basic income) is an unconditional cash payment given at regular intervals by the government to all residents, regardless of their earnings or employment status; unconditional cash payments given regularly to only specific groups, such as low-income families and the unhoused, are called a GBI (guaranteed basic income).

Question: The ongoing “silver tsunami” (or “gray tsunami”) could dramatically affect the U.S. economy and U.S. society as a whole. What is it?

Answer: The “silver tsunami” (or “gray tsunami”) is the wave of Baby Boomers reaching retirement age; the fear is that this large “wave” of retirees will overwhelm the health care system, deflate the housing market (as retirees sell their homes and downsize), cause a “brain drain” of institutional knowledge, and increase the need for senior care, burdening many families.