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Re: Truck driver: The gasoline tax is too high and it must be [#permalink]
Answer is A
What is wrong with E?
Here is what stem says:
Cause: Higher taxes
Effect: Will hurt the company's customers or put the company out of business

A contradiction would be that lower taxes will hurt the company as well or that higher taxes does not hurt the company at all. E says that that money is required for the well functioning of the firm[maintining roads]. Without that money, the firm's situation would be even worse.

There is no contradiction in E. Instead, the official's point supports the cause; high taxes should be maintained because of X and Y reasons
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Re: Truck driver: The gasoline tax is too high and it must be [#permalink]
I don't like A. (although it seems like the obvious answer).

It appears to me that the driver and the state official are talking about different things.

The truck driver isn't complaining about paying taxes , but about increases 5 years in row and very high taxes.

The state official doesn't justify the *increase or its excessiveness* but goes on to state why the gasoline tax in general is useful. (There is no justification for the increase over the last 5 years ...like additional roads , increased labour costs etc).

The argument of the state official appears irrelevant to me

With some reluctance i choose D. Can somebody poke holes into this ?
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Re: Truck driver: The gasoline tax is too high and it must be [#permalink]
Version2, let me ask you this:

"Without those additional revenues, road conditions would deteriorate"
Doesn't the above implicitly say that the roads will be repaired by the required funds, hence, a justification for the very presence or increase in the taxes?
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Re: Truck driver: The gasoline tax is too high and it must be [#permalink]
Paul,

I'm not quite sure what "additional revenues" refers to here.
Additional revenues could refer to the gasoline tax in general or it could refer to the "increased" gasoline tax.

Either way i don't quite see a justification for the *increase and high taxes*. Merely stating that the *road conditions would deteriorate* doesn't seem to be a valid response. ?
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Re: Truck driver: The gasoline tax is too high and it must be [#permalink]
Without your tax money, the road conditions would deteriorate. Hence, your tax money serves to maintain the roads in good condition.

Another example. Without your money, people will die of starvation. Hence, doesn't your money serve the purpose of feeding those needy people. Don't you have a reason for the use of your money?
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Re: Truck driver: The gasoline tax is too high and it must be [#permalink]
Without your tax money, the road conditions would deteriorate.

No, i got that part. Believe me , i'm trying hard to poke holes into my own argument. :-)

There is a "reason to use the money" ... is there a justification " for increasing it every year".

Perhaps you are making the assumption that if someone takes "X" amount of money from you its because they need all of "X".

Rephasing in an *absurd way* to make a point.

Goverment : "The next year every truck driver should pay a billion dollars as gasoline tax"

Driver: "Thats unfair and will drive us out of business".

Official : We need the billion bucks to maintain and upkeep roads,

Put the above way the officials explanation sounds irrelevant to me. Of course i might be overanalysing this one ;-).
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Re: Truck driver: The gasoline tax is too high and it must be [#permalink]
Quote:
There is no justification for the increase over the last 5 years ...like additional roads , increased labour costs


IMO, the mere fact of maintaining roads is enough justification for the use of the money. Sometimes, you don't necessarily need to build additional roads or show that labour costs have increase in order to justify the use of the available scarce resources. Simply maintaining a network of roads can be a cash drain and claiming that the funds are needed for the maintenance of the road network is ample enough justification. On the other hand, you said that you did not like A. What aspect of A did you not like?
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Re: Truck driver: The gasoline tax is too high and it must be [#permalink]
Nice discussion !

OA is "A", pals

Dharmin
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Re: Truck driver: The gasoline tax is too high and it must be [#permalink]
Quote:
Simply maintaining a network of roads can be a cash drain and claiming that the funds are needed for the maintenance of the road network is ample enough justification


I agree with this. Again i don't see any justification for increases. While a network of roads can be a cash drain (maintenance and the like) what is the necessity for increases every year? now if the CR was phrased this way

Quote:
Truck driver: The gasoline tax is too high, We truck drivers will not pay it If the government persists in unfairly panalizing truck drivers, our increased operating costs will either hurt consumers or put us out of the business.

State Official: But your gasoline tax dollars maintain and improve the very roads you depend on. Without those additional revenues, road conditions would deteriorate, costing you and consumers much more in maintainence and repairs.


In this case i'd chose A.

Quote:
On the other hand, you said that you did not like A. What aspect of A did you not like?


'A' to me has always been tangetial to the issue. The truck drivers proposal is to "lower" taxes. The official did not provide any reason for using up all the tax dollars (as the previous absurd argument i posted shows). So telling the driver that he would be worse of than before seemed to be without proof. Perhaps lowering the tax by 10% would actually benefit the drivers. All i though of when reading the officials response is 'where have you justified the increase in taxes'. What changed between the 1st year and the 5th year that you got to keep *increasing* the taxes'?


Am i grasping at straws here ??. The only CR's i get wrong are the ones which have simple answers and i don't seem like simple answers ;-). [/quote]



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