Current farm policy is institutionalized penalization of consumers. It

Current farm policy is institutionalized penalization of consumers. It increases food prices for middle- and low-income families and costs the taxpayer billions of dollars a year.

Which of the following statements, if true, would provide support for the author’s claims above?

Explanation:
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I. Farm subsidies amount to roughly $20 billion a year in federal payouts and $12 billion more in higher food prices. ---> Correct. This option just looks like a restatement of the premise (the only difference is that they have added numbers instead of words).

II. According to a study by the Department of Agriculture, each $1 of benefits provided to farmers for ethanol production costs consumers and taxpayers $4. ---> Clearly provides support for author's claim. Benefit ($1) provided to the farmers is not going to come from money plant; it will come from the taxpayers. Also, increase in production cost will be reflected in increased food prices, which will affect consumers.

III. The average full-time farmers have an average net worth of over $300,000. ---> Irrelevant. How does it show that the farm policy is penalizing consumers and taxpayers?

(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) III only
(D) I and II only
(E) I, II, and III
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Clearly, option D.

Hope that helps.


Regards,
Technext