LSAT 10 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q19

LR Question 19 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Fares on the city-run public buses in Greenville are subsidized by …

QUESTION TYPE: Weaken (Exception)

CONCLUSION: Bus fares should be raised so it pays for itself.

REASONING: City taxes should benefit the people who pay them. Non-residents are benefiting from taxpayer-subsidized fares. So, eliminate the subsidy.

ANALYSIS: We want to find the answer that will NOT weaken this reasoning. So four incorrect choices will undermine the idea that fares should go up.

The correct choice will either strengthen the argument (fares should be raised) or be neutral (no impact on the argument).

___________

1. If raising fares drives away business, the city loses jobs, tax revenue, and services. This directly hurts the taxpayers the policy is meant to protect.
2. This points out hidden costs to taxpayers (pollution, road damage) from encouraging car use. It suggests that the subsidy may actually be fiscally beneficial in the long run.
3. Even if some residents don’t pay taxes, the city wants to support them. That challenges the idea that services should only benefit those who pay taxes.
4. CORRECT. This doesn’t really impact the argument. This is political background that doesn’t address whether fares should or should not be subsidized.
5. This is the trap. It looks like it weakens the argument by suggesting that commuters do contribute to city revenue. But the councillors’ argument is based on city taxes broadly, not just the wage tax. So the wage tax does not mean full contribution to services like transit.