Comprehension Question

[tdave1999]

Can someone help with this question. I'm thinking the answer is A, but unsure.

"The Sellmuch Corporation is considering opening a new manufacturing facility in county X, but has requested an exemption from property tax for its first five years in the county to offset the costs of moving to the area. Advocates of the plan argue that the plant will economically benefit the county, despite the exemption, because of the many jobs created and the long-term tax benefits.

Each of the following, if true, raises a consideration that argues against the conclusion above, EXCEPT:

A. The majority of the jobs created by the plant would be filled by
employees recruited from elsewhere in the county.

B. The plant would produce considerable air and water pollution that would require expensive treatment at county facilities.

C. The costs to the corporation of constructing the facility using local labor would only be partially offset by the tax exemption.

D. The county will need to build several new roads to provide full access to the area where the plant would be constructed.

E. The children of those Sellmuch Corporation employees who move to the area would add a burden to the public school system of county X."


Thanks!

[tommywallach]

Hey Tdave,

Fun question. I always like to start by looking at the conclusion and premise(s):

Conclusion: The plant will benefit the county
Premise: It will create jobs and taxes

Now let's look at the question:

Each of the following, if true, raises a consideration that argues against the conclusion above, EXCEPT:

So we want something that DOES NOT weaken the conclusion that the plant will benefit the county.

A. The majority of the jobs created by the plant would be filled by
employees recruited from elsewhere in the county.

This does weaken the conclusion, because now the county might not get many jobs.

B. The plant would produce considerable air and water pollution that would require expensive treatment at county facilities.

This does weaken the conclusion, because now the county has to pay for a bunch of new stuff.

C. The costs to the corporation of constructing the facility using local labor would only be partially offset by the tax exemption.

Hmm. This says the corporation might have to spend more money, but we don't care about them. We only care about the COUNTY needing to spend more money.

D. The county will need to build several new roads to provide full access to the area where the plant would be constructed.

This does weaken the conclusion, because now the county has to spend money on roads and stuff.

E. The children of those Sellmuch Corporation employees who move to the area would add a burden to the public school system of county X."

This does weaken the conclusion, because now the county needs to pay for more schools.

So the answer is (C). Hope that makes sense!

-t