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Question: During the presidential debates, representatives from some states were dissatisfied with recent budget reforms, saying the new budget changes fail to meet the goal of directing federal funds to states who were most weakened by the financial recession. Their criticism is primarily based on the fact that most states that now receive additional funding are states with major city populations that enjoyed a budget surplus last year. What the critics disregard, though, is the fact that all the states who had their funding increased had been identified by an assessment committee as having greater than 20% decline in economic output over the past year. So regardless of the states' budget surplus or deficit, the federal government has not failed to distribute funds fairly.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(A) Rather than being determined by budget surplus or deficit, the amount of funding a state needs depends on whether it has a major city or not.
(B) The number of states that have received an increase in funding represents a significant proportion of all the states in the country.
(C) The committee's assessment of states' financial needs has been deemed biased by the local media.
(D) The assessment committee did not identify many states with greater than 20% decline in economic output other than those with major cities and budget surpluses in the last year.
(E) States with budget deficits typically had more decline in economic output than did states with major cities and budget surpluses.
Answer: D
Explanation:
Given that, Representatives from certain states complained during the presidential debates that recent budget reforms failed to route federal cash to states most harmed by the financial crisis. Their main issue is that most states that received more assistance were states with large cities and budget surpluses last year. Critics ignore the fact that an assessment committee found that all states that received funding increases had a 20% economic production drop over the past year. Regardless of state budget surpluses or deficits, the federal government distributes monies evenly.
Let's approach the answer choices.
A: Incorrect
This choice is not relevant to the central argument, which is about the fairness of distributing funds based on economic decline. The argument focuses on the economic decline assessment, not the presence of major cities.
B: Incorrect
The argument doesn't hinge on the proportion of states receiving increased funding. It's centered on the fact that all states receiving additional funding had significant economic decline, regardless of budget surplus or deficit.
C: Incorrect
The local media's opinion about the committee's assessment is not relevant to the argument's logic. The argument relies on the committee's assessment being accurate and objective.
D: Correct
This assumption is necessary for the argument's conclusion that the federal government has distributed funds fairly. The argument counters the critics' claim by providing the counter-argument that all the states that had their funding increased were identified as having a significant economic decline. However, if the assessment committee had identified many other states with similar economic decline but without major cities and budget surpluses, then the argument's conclusion that funds were distributed fairly could be undermined.
E: Incorrect
This choice introduces new information about the correlation between budget deficits and economic decline. The argument doesn't address this relationship; it focuses on the committee's assessment of economic decline as the determining factor for increased funding.
“During the presidential debates, representatives from some statesl”– is a GMAT Critical question. To answer the question, a candidate can either find a piece of evidence that would weaken the argument or have logical flaws in the argument. GMAT critical reasoning tests the logical and analytical skills of the candidates. This topic requires candidates to find the argument's strengths and weaknesses or the logical flaw in the argument. The GMAT CR section contains 10 -13 GMAT critical reasoning questions out of 36 GMAT verbal questions.
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