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- Fri Dec 20, 2019 10:46 am
#72673
Complete Question Explanation
Point at Issue. The correct answer choice is (B).
Javier's argument concludes with a proposal and a prediction of the outcome of that proposal. The proposal is that the government hire private contractors to perform services now performed by government employees, and the prediction is that the proposal "could save" the government some money.
Mykayla responds by implicitly questioning the prediction Javier makes about the outcome of that specific proposal. She cites data that show "on average, the government paid substantially more to hire contractors than it would have cost for government employees to perform comparable services." This implicitly questions Javier's prediction that the government could save money by replacing its employees with private contractors.
Our prephrase is that the two disagree over the prediction: whether the government could save money by replacing its employees with private contractors. Javier argues it could. Mykayla implicitly argues it cannot.
Answer choice (A): This is a subtle wrong answer. The argument Javier makes and Mykayla responds to is not about reducing the number of employees on the government payroll in an absolute sense. It is about using private contractors for certain work that is now performed by government employees. What would happen to the overall number of employees on the government's payroll if the government took up Javier's proposal is unclear.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. The answer choice fits the prephrase, and satisfies the Agree/Disagree test. Javier agrees that the government would save money if it took up his proposal (note the language of answer choice B specifically mirrors what Javier proposes, when it says "hired private contractors to perform services now performed by government employees"). Mykayla would disagree that the government would save money under such a proposal, because of the data she cites showing otherwise.
Answer choice (C): While Javier agrees with answer choice C, we do not know Mykayla's position on answer choice C, thus the answer choice is incorrect.
Answer choice (D): Neither speaker states whether they believe it's possible for every service currently performed by a government employee to be performed by a private contractor. Thus, the answer choice is incorrect.
Answer choice (E): Neither speaker discusses the total amount of money the government pays annually either for its employees or for its private contractors. Thus, the answer choice is incorrect.
Point at Issue. The correct answer choice is (B).
Javier's argument concludes with a proposal and a prediction of the outcome of that proposal. The proposal is that the government hire private contractors to perform services now performed by government employees, and the prediction is that the proposal "could save" the government some money.
Mykayla responds by implicitly questioning the prediction Javier makes about the outcome of that specific proposal. She cites data that show "on average, the government paid substantially more to hire contractors than it would have cost for government employees to perform comparable services." This implicitly questions Javier's prediction that the government could save money by replacing its employees with private contractors.
Our prephrase is that the two disagree over the prediction: whether the government could save money by replacing its employees with private contractors. Javier argues it could. Mykayla implicitly argues it cannot.
Answer choice (A): This is a subtle wrong answer. The argument Javier makes and Mykayla responds to is not about reducing the number of employees on the government payroll in an absolute sense. It is about using private contractors for certain work that is now performed by government employees. What would happen to the overall number of employees on the government's payroll if the government took up Javier's proposal is unclear.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. The answer choice fits the prephrase, and satisfies the Agree/Disagree test. Javier agrees that the government would save money if it took up his proposal (note the language of answer choice B specifically mirrors what Javier proposes, when it says "hired private contractors to perform services now performed by government employees"). Mykayla would disagree that the government would save money under such a proposal, because of the data she cites showing otherwise.
Answer choice (C): While Javier agrees with answer choice C, we do not know Mykayla's position on answer choice C, thus the answer choice is incorrect.
Answer choice (D): Neither speaker states whether they believe it's possible for every service currently performed by a government employee to be performed by a private contractor. Thus, the answer choice is incorrect.
Answer choice (E): Neither speaker discusses the total amount of money the government pays annually either for its employees or for its private contractors. Thus, the answer choice is incorrect.