LSAT 151 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q24

LR Question 24 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Economist: If minimum wage levels are low, employers have …

QUESTION TYPE: Strengthen

CONCLUSION: Raising the minimum wage would help the economy more than any hiring cutbacks would hurt it.

REASONING:

• Low minimum wages -> hire more workers -> don’t invest in productivity -> productivity doesn’t grow -> living standards don’t grow
• High minimum wages -> higher productivity -> higher living standards

ANALYSIS: The argument is weighing a benefit against a possible downside.

The benefit is: higher minimum wage -> more productivity -> better living standards/economic health.

The downside is: raising wages might cause some hiring cutbacks.

So to strengthen the argument, you want something that makes the downside look less serious, or makes the benefit also help with the downside.

___________

1. CORRECT. The main worry is that raising the minimum wage could reduce hiring. If productivity growth usually leads to more job creation later, then the productivity benefit can partly offset that concern.
2. A rising unemployment rate could actually make hiring cutbacks seem more worrying.
3. This makes unemployment seem important, which could weaken the argument by making hiring cutbacks look more serious.
4. So it’s probably a good idea for them to develop technology. But it doesn’t show that raising the minimum wage would produce enough productivity gains to outweigh job losses.
5. If productivity-enhancing technology becomes outdated quickly, that could make the productivity benefit look weaker, not stronger.