#22 - From 1996 to 2004, the average family income

[jackieb]

Hi jackieb!

The conclusion of this stimulus is the claim that a decrease in average family income was the result of mismanagement of the economy by the political party in power at the time (a claim made by opponents of this party). Answer choice (E) states that "The biggest decreases in family income resulted from policies enacted before the ruling party came to power in 1996." If this were true, it would weaken the conclusion that the decrease in average family income came from the political party in power at the time, because (E) is indicating that the decrease in family income stemmed from policies enacted before the party was in power (it's indicating some other cause, namely, a prior political party in power). Since this answer choice weakens the argument and this is a weaken-except question, that confirms that it's an incorrect answer choice.

Hi Luke,

I completely understand how the policies could be from before 1996- this is why I selected A. I meant how can we be sure the DECREASES they mention weren't before 1996. They could be referencing decreases from 1950, and policies could be from 1940.