Representative : " Our prison system have been criticized for having

This question asks you to find the statement that most seriously undermines the reasoning in the argument. The argument consists of a state representative's response to criticism regarding the adequacy of their prison facilities. The attempts to counter this charge by changing the subject and saying that the state plans to allocate a lot of funds to the prison system in the next year. A statement that undermines this reasoning will suggest a way in which increased spending may not lead to adequate facilities.

Choice (A) presents unrelated information; we are concerned with the prison system in this state, not those in neighboring states.
Choice (B) suggests a reason why the prison facilities may be inadequate: if there has been a recent increase in felony convictions, then there may be more inmates than the system can handle. This appears to undermine the representative's argument insofar it shows that the critics were likely justified in calling the facilities inadequate. However, we don't know how the increase in felony convictions actually affected the total number of inmates in the system; without this additional information, the statement in choice (B) can have no effect on the argument.
Choice (C) shows a way in which increased spending may not lead to adequate facilities. If the state allocated large amounts of money to the system in the last few years, then it must be true that the state's prison facilities were inadequate. The discussion of funding should set alarm bells off because good funding does not equate with good results. In fact, this question raises the paradox that high funding might actually mean that the prisons are in dire shape and desperately need the money.
Choice (D) is irrelevant; the cost of maintaining other institutions is not in question.
Choice (E) has no effect on the argument; even if we agree that the state should not use their money in this way, a statement of opinion can have no bearing on an argument's logical structure.
Choice (C) most seriously undermines the representative's argument, and is the best choice.

i know the OA is C. but can someone give a good reasoning against D. the stem states we have spent more money on this project than on any other
doesn't this concur with D that the money which is pumped is just for maintaining and not uplifting the facilities?

As i mentioned in earlier post that the cost of maintaining other institutions is not in question. Do have any specific concern or angle on this choice ?

Representative : " Our prison system have been criticized for having what some say are inadequate facilities. While its true that there are some improvements to be made, Critics should consider that improving the prisons has been one of the state's primary concern in the past years. In fact over the last few years we have spent more money on this project than on any other"

Which of the following , if true , would seriously undermine the reasoning in represenative's arguement?

A. Prison systems in neighboring states have also been criticized for having inadequate facilities.neighboring states are not compared
B. In the past few years, there has been a sharp increase in the number of felony convictions in this state.number of felonies do not impact the state of prison directly.
C. Only states with presently inadequate facilities would need to allocate large amounts of money to the prison system correct weakner.
D. In general, prison systems require more money to maintain than other institutions of a comparable size.this comparison is out of scope
E. State funds should go toward improving the economy and eradicating homelessness, not improving the prisons.no such recommendation required.

Can anyone explain in layman language why c weakens the argument???

Thanks in advance.

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The representative is arguing that the prison system isn't inadequate because the state spends a lot of money on it. C weakens the argument if true because it's just saying that spending a lot of money on it actually means it is inadequate. The opposite of what the rep is trying to argue.

Hello expert,
I was torn by C and D, and I think both the two can weaken. Need your ideas and thanks in advance.

The representative is arguing against the following idea.

Our prison system have been criticized for having what some say are inadequate facilities.

The premise used in arguing against that idea is the following.

In fact over the last few years we have spent more money on this project than on any other.

Here's (D).

In general, prison systems require more money to maintain than other institutions of a comparable size.

I agree that (D) weakens the case somewhat since it undermines the support provided by the premise by reducing the significance of the fact that more money has been spent on improving the prison facilities than on any other project.

I think the easiest way to tell is that D says “In general”. Stating something “in general” will almost never “seriously undermine” an argument especially for a specific case, whereas C is stating an absolute using the word “only”.

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MartyTargetTestPrep, thanks for your fast response and sharing. I went with C finally is just with my gut cuz I feel C maybe stronger than D.

c3tangerines, thanks for your advice comrade. I went with C just with my gut and I feel C is stronger than D too.