LSAT 4 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q1

LR Question 1 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Rita: The original purpose of government farm-subsidy programs…

QUESTION TYPE: Strengthen

Arguments: Rita concludes we should stop subsidizing farmers who have incomes over $100,000. The farm subsidy program was meant to support small farmers but now most money goes to a few large farmers.

Thomas argues it would be impossible to cut off only those farmers above $100,000. Subsidies are given out early in the year and are needed for planting whereas its not clear how much a farmer will earn until the end of the year.

ANALYSIS: Thomas probably just doesn’t want to stop subsidies for rich farmers. The farmers receiving the most subsidies likely earn much more than $100,000. There would be no trouble cutting them off.

As for the rest, answer choice E says we could base subsidies on last year’s income. That mostly solves the problem.

___________

1. This makes no sense. Rita’s main concern is that too much money is going to big farmers. She might agree that answer choice A is a problem, but it requires another solution.
2. This is a reply Thomas could make: Rita’s plan could reduce food production.
3. This is also a reply Thomas could make. Just because a farmer had a very good year and earned over $100,000, should he be denied subsidies if his typical income is $40,000?
4. Thomas’s claim is that the program would be impossible to administer. He doesn’t care about the benefits: he thinks the program cannot be done.
5. CORRECT. This would provide a simple way of administering the program. It would not be hard to say which farmer qualified for subsidies, and subsidies could be given out before planting.

Recap: The question begins with “Rita: The original purpose of government farm-subsidy programs”. It is a Strengthen question. Learn how to master LSAT Strengthen questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.