Five times as many workers may be needed to construct a power plant as

Question

Five times as many workers may be needed to construct a power plant as to operate it. The numbers may be even more disproportionate for a major pipeline or dam. When the construction ends, a substantial reduction in population is virtually guaranteed. Hence, there may be no justification for providing an infrastructure necessary to maintain adequate levels of service during the construction period. 
 
Money necessary to build water systems, schools and roads and to fund salaries and maintenance costs is mismatched by traditional taxing programs. The construction project is usually not subject to local property tax until it nears completion, which may be five years after the impact has occurred. Alternative sources of tax revenue cannot begin to cover the cost of providing the necessary services. Even if some governments have money, they may not be the right governments. Some entities may suffer the impact of development without being able to tax it. For example, a development may be located in the county just outside the limits of an incorporated city. The county will be entitled to tax the property while the city may receive most of the project population and demand for services. 
 
The 1960s and 1970s witnessed a new boomtown era in the West. The typical contemporary boomtown is fuelled by a quest for energy in the form of a fossil-fuelled electric generating plant, a hydroelectric dam or a new mine. The energy project is typically located near a small community or is forced to start a community from scratch. Often, the boomtown is poorly planned and under-financed. Long-time residents find their community changed for the worse and newcomers find the town an undesirable place to live. 
 
The boomtown is characterized by inadequate public services, undesirable labour conditions, confusion in community structure, and deterioration of the quality of life arising from rapid population growth due to a major economic stimulus. Accelerated growth is the most distinguishing characteristic of a boomtown. 
 
Studies have shown that large-scale development in sparsely populated areas causes major social problems. Housing, street and water systems construction, school development and police and fire protection lag far behind population growth. Rent and property tax increases join with a rise in the general cost of living to harm persons on fixed incomes. Education in the community may suffer. One result of boomtown living is higher incidence of divorce, depression, alcoholism and attempted suicide. Until recently, planners have ignored or understated such problems. While the boomtown promotes an ―us against them‖ mentality — the old timers versus persons brought to the community by the boom — the fact remains that all parties suffer. Newcomers may blame oldtimers for a lack of support just as old-timers may blame them for a deterioration of community life. Consequences of the boomtown also harm the project developer. The undesirable community results in poor worker productivity and frequent worker turnover, factors that delay construction and push projects over budget. Problems of rapid growth in some boomtowns are compounded by the fact that most of the population disappears with the completion of project construction.   1 
 1. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following are possible ways in which a boomtown is affected by poor planning and under-financing?

I. Unsatisfactory labour conditions 
II. Inadequate police protection 
III. Poor community relations 
 
A. II only 
B. I and III only 
C. II and III only 
D. I, II, and III 
E. I only

2 
 2. The passage suggests that there is often a lack of services associated with boomtowns. The author claims that all of the following are possible causal factors for the lack of services associated with a boomtown EXCEPT:

A. the expected loss of a substantial number of residents after the completion of a project. 
B. lack of support from long-time residents. 
C. the location of an energy project just outside the limits of an incorporated city. 
D. the time lag between the beginning of project construction and the onset of tax payments for it. 
E. the mismatch between funds needed and traditional taxing programs

3  
 3. The tone of the author‘s discussion of traditional taxing programs in regard to boomtowns can best be described as:

A. outraged 
B. concerned 
C. disbelieving 
D. complacent 
E. mocking

Gmatsaiyan · Answer

Topic and Scope  - Rapid growth and infrastructure problems in 60s and 70s western boomtowns
 Mapping the Passage 
¶1 notes that the population drop after a project is completed makes problems worse.
¶2 describes the reasons that money is scarce for infrastructure.
¶s3 and 4 describe the causes of modern boomtowns and introduce problems caused by the growth.
¶5 describes social problems and their negative impact on the project that caused the problems in the first place.

Gmatsaiyan · Answer

Answers and Explanations OE 
 1) Where are consequences of poor planning mentioned? While the author discusses them throughout the passage, there‘s a particular focus in ¶s3-5. RN I is mentioned explicitly in line 33 and expanded on in ¶5. RN II is mentioned in line 41. Note that at this point, all the answer choices except for (D) are eliminated, so you can save time by not evaluating the last statement! RN III is discussed in the context of the ―us against them‖ mentality described in the second half of ¶5.
(A): Opposite. As described above.
(B): Opposite. As above.
(C): Opposite. As above.
(D): The correct answer
(E): Opposite. As above.
 2)  An ―All...EXCEPT‖ question, so either eliminate or look for an off-scope answer choice. (B) is the only statement not suggested in the passage as a cause for lack of services. Although resentment among "old timers versus persons brought to the community by the boom" (¶5) can occur, there‘s no reason why the lack of support from long-time residents would lead to a shortage of schools, housing, etc.
(A): Opposite. This is the topic of ¶1.
(B): The correct answer
(C): Opposite. An energy project is one of the types of projects the author mentions at the beginning of the passage as causing all the problems listed in the passage.
(D): Opposite. This is discussed throughout ¶2.
(E): Opposite. This is discussed throughout ¶2.
 3)  What does the author think about the traditional systems of taxation as described in ¶2? Predict: The author thinks that it leads to a ―critical problem.‖ (B) is the only choice that reflects that worry about the effects of too few taxes.
(A): Distortion. Though the author thinks that the inefficient taxation is a problem, there‘s no hint of outrage, which is far too extreme.
(B): The correct answer
(C): Out of Scope. There‘s nothing to suggest that the author is at all astonished by the taxation programs.
(D): Opposite. The author thinks that the problem is ―critical,‖ which suggests that
the tone is anything but complacent.
(E): The author does not mock anything in the passage

inesserra · Answer

1. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following are possible ways in which a boom town is affected by poor planning and under-financing?

I. Unsatisfactory labour conditions → RIGHT. Inferred from paragraph 4, as characteristic of undesirable 
II. Inadequate police protection → RIGHT. Inferred from evidence supported in paragraph 4 of police and fire protection lag
III. Poor community relations → RIGHT: This can be inferred from paragraph 3, of deterioration of quality of life from major economic stimulus.
A. II only
B. I and III only
C. II and III only
 D. I, II, and III
 E. I only

2. The passage suggests that there is often a lack of services associated with boomtowns. The author claims that all of the following are possible causal factors for the lack of services associated with a boomtown EXCEPT:

A. the expected loss of a substantial number of residents after the completion of a project. --> RIGHT. Supported in paragraph 1. "When the construction ends, a substantial reduction in population is virtually guaranteed.”
 B. lack of support from long-time residents.  --> WRONG. It is not from long-time residents. As mentioned in paragraph w, is not subject to local property tax and alternate sources talk about entities (not residents).
C. the location of an energy project just outside the limits of an incorporated city. --> RIGHT. As mentioned in paragraph 1, “a development may be located in the county just outside the limits of an incorporated city. The county will be entitled to tax the property while the city may receive most of the project population and demand for services.” 
D. the time lag between the beginning of project construction and the onset of tax payments for it. --> RIGHT. This is supported by the passage, paragraph 1, the construction project is usually not subject to tax property util it nears complete (may be 5 years after the impact)
E. the mismatch between funds needed and traditional taxing programs --> RIGHT. This can be inferred from overall passage. 
-------------------
3. The tone of the author‘s discussion of traditional taxing programs in regard to boomtowns can best be described as:

For tone questions, discard the ones that are strong emotions and disrespectful with researcher/scientific/person involved in the study. Therefore, we can eliminate A, E right away. C is Out of Scope.
B and D show moderate emotions, but B is more aligned with author's line of reasoning.

A. outraged 
 B. concerned
 C. disbelieving → OOS. This cannot be inferred from the taxation problems described.
D. complacent --> Author is not complacent to taxing programs, moreover is concerned with the importance of the problem.So is not complacent. 
E. mocking

GrimPane · Answer

For Q 2 what I logically deducted was that author explicitly mentions the term "mentality" and "Newcomers may blame oldtimers for a lack of support " which indicates, that newcomers may think that way, thereby providing no evidence of whether the author is in support of the same or not ....
Am I logically correct in deducing that ??

guddo · Answer

2. The passage suggests that there is often a lack of services associated with boomtowns. The author claims that all of the following are possible causal factors for the lack of services associated with a boomtown EXCEPT:

The passage explains that boomtowns often lack adequate services because rapid growth creates heavy demand before the tax system can fund or assign those services properly.  The main idea  is that the causes are mainly structural and financial: temporary population spikes, tax delays, and jurisdiction problems.  Blame or resentment between groups is described as a consequence of boomtown conditions, not as a cause of the service shortage.

A. the expected loss of a substantial number of residents after the completion of a project.

This is a causal factor the author does mention. The first paragraph says that when construction ends, a substantial reduction in population is virtually guaranteed, and therefore there may be no justification for building infrastructure sized for the construction period.

B. lack of support from long-time residents.

This is the correct answer because the author does not present this as a cause of the lack of services. The passage says newcomers may blame old-timers for lack of support, but that is part of the social tension created by the boomtown, not one of the author’s stated causes of inadequate services.

C. the location of an energy project just outside the limits of an incorporated city.

This is a causal factor the author does mention. The passage gives the example that the county may get the tax revenue while the nearby city gets most of the population and service demand.

D. the time lag between the beginning of project construction and the onset of tax payments for it.

This is a causal factor the author clearly mentions. The passage says the project is usually not subject to local property tax until it nears completion, even though the impact occurs much earlier.

E. the mismatch between funds needed and traditional taxing programs

This is also a causal factor expressly stated by the author. The second paragraph says the money needed for systems, schools, roads, salaries, and maintenance is mismatched by traditional taxing programs.

Answer: (B)

guddo · Answer

Yes, I think, that deduction is logically correct.

The phrase “newcomers may blame old-timers for a lack of support” reports  the newcomers’ perception , not the author’s own causal explanation. The author is describing a social reaction inside boomtowns, not endorsing that reaction as a real cause of the lack of services.

So your logic is right: the author mentions that mentality, but does not present lack of support from long-time residents as one of the actual causes of inadequate services.

Five times as many workers may be needed to construct a power plant as

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Five times as many workers may be needed to construct a power plant as

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