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Citing the fact that the real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was higher in 1997 than ever before, some journalists have argued that the United States economy performed ideally in 1997. However, the real GDP is almost always higher than ever before; it falls only during recessions. One point these journalists overlooked is that in 1997, as in the twenty-four years immediately preceding it, the real GDP per capita grew nearly one-half percent a year more slowly than it had on average between 1873 and 1973. Were the 1997 economy as robust as claimed, the growth rate of real GDP per capita in 1997 would have surpassed the average growth rate of real GDP per capita between 1873 and 1973 because over fifty percent of the population worked for wages in 1997 whereas only forty percent worked for wages between 1873 and 1973. If the growth rate of labor productivity (output per hour of goods and services) in 1997 had equaled its average growth rate between 1873 and 1973 of more than two percent, then, given the proportionately larger workforce that existed in 1997, real GDP per capita in 1997 would have been higher than it actually was, since output is a major factor in GDP. However, because labor productivity grew by only one percent in 1997, real GDP per capita grew more slowly in 1997 than it had on average between 1873 and 1973.

Q1
It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following is the reason that the author faults the journalists referred to in line 4?

A. They believe that the real GDP per capita in 1997 was higher than the real GDP per capita had ever been before.
B. They argue that the rate at which real GDP per capita grew in 1997 was faster than the average rate at which it had grown between 1873 and 1973.
C. They overestimate the effect of labor productivity on the real GDP per capita in 1997.
D. They overestimate the amount by which real GDP per capita in 1997 surpassed real GDP per capita in earlier years.
E. They fail to consider the real GDP per capita in 1997 within an appropriate historical context.
OA: E

I see why E is correct. What's wrong with A?

Thanks