LSAT 126 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q8

LR Question 8 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Larew: People in the lowest income quintile had a much…

QUESTION TYPE: Point at Issue

DISAGREEMENT: Larew thinks prosperity is shown by percentage increase, while Mendota thinks it’s shown by absolute income gain.

ANALYSIS: Let’s try using an analogy. You get a 5% raise, which works out to $250 per month. Your boss tells you that you should be happy, and that he is jealous. He only got a 2% raise. But for him that works out to $1,000 per month.

You conclude he is a jerk.

Which is more important, the percentage increase or the total amount of the increase? That is what Larew and Mendota disagree about.

___________

1. CORRECT. This is it. Mendota doesn’t think that percentage change is enough.
2. This is a mouthful. All it’s really asking is whether we should: a. compare poor peoples’ incomes only to their previous incomes, or b. compare them to rich peoples’ incomes. Both speakers agree they should be compared to rich peoples’ incomes.
3. Mendota doesn’t say the comparison should never be done, but they think average income is important too.
4. Mendota explicitly agrees that the poor did get richer.
5. They both agree this is true.

Recap: The question begins with “Larew: People in the lowest income quintile had a much”. It is a Point at Issue question. Learn more about LSAT Point at Issue questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.