In 1980, 18% of American families lived under the poverty line.

Hi,

Source:

L e a r n i n g E x p r e s s ®’ s
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Elizabeth Chesla
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I cant comment on the authenticity of the source but the author seems to have written quite a few books on GMAT.

Regards,
Dom.

The Poverty line was adjusted (income level raised) doesn't it say income level was raised but not decreased which means that more number of people would be under poverty?

D is the only solution that reinforces the fact from the premise that poverty line was adjusted/ redefined.

Sometimes, no solution addresses the issue completely. We need to find the one with least inaccuracy.

yeah i understood after re reading....we need to find an option that reinstates the idea that poverty line is adjusted as per convenience.

abhimahna , GMATNinja

I rejected D because it talks about increasing the income level whereas the passage says that the poverty line was redefined(income level reduced). Still confused in between D and E.

Can someone please explain why "d" is correct ....in the passage it is given that income reduced and answer choice says income level increases ...

Both the statement are contradictory....


Anyone please explain how to check

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Official Explanation

Correct Answer: D

Including the fact that the poverty line is regularly raised to account for inflation would significantly strengthen the conclusion that more families were living in poverty in 1990 despite the lower percentage of families under the poverty line. Choice a is an opinion that expresses anger at statistical manipulation but does not provide a premise that would further support the conclusion. Choice b offers information that might help account for a normal difference in the number of families living in poverty, but the passage doesnt argue that fewer families were in poverty in 1990; rather, it argues the opposite. Choice c is essentially irrelevant.

Democrats and Republicans may have certain agendas and institute certain social policies, but this is not relevant unless the reader knows a specific Democratic or Republican measure taken to affect the poverty level. Choice e suggests that many more poor people needed assistance in 1990 than 1980, but it is essentially irrelevant without further information showing the correlation between welfare recipients and the poverty line; it may be an apples-to-oranges comparison. You would need to know if any significant changes in welfare policy occurred in the interim.

Bunuel
But that comes with an assumption that the inflation level would rise each year. Can it not be the case that inflation actually went down in the 1990's ? and thus by the logic of "going both ways", can the income level not be adjusted(lowered) to account for low inflation?

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