#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.

[Jeff Wren]

Hi jackie,

I definitely understand what you are asking.

The wording of Answer E could have been better to more clearly indicate that the "decreases in family income" mentioned are in fact referring to the ones mentioned in the argument, specifically those occurring between 1996-2004.

For example, Answer E could have added "resulted from policies enacted just before the ruling party came to power in 1996" to really make this more clear.

The short answer is that, the question is asking, each answer "counters the opponents' explanation of the decrease in average family income EXCEPT." In this context, Answer E's description of "the biggest decreases in family income" is understood to be referring to the same average decrease in family income mentioned in the stimulus. In other words, Answer E does not say "Historically, the biggest decreases have been..." or "The biggest decreases of all time have been...."