Hi there,
I have a question concerning this exercise please :
During the incumbent president's term of office he succeeded in limiting annual increases in the defense budget by an average of 5 percent. His predecessor experienced annual increases of 8 percent. Therefore, the incumbent president should be given credit for the downturn in defense outlays.
Which of the following statements, if true, would most seriously weaken the above conclusion ?
The answer is :
(D) The average annual inflationn rate during the incumbent president's term was 4%, while during his predecessor's it was 10%.
But I dont understand the following explanation :
If inflation averaged 4 percent and spending increased 5 percent, the real value of defense outlays actually increased 25 percent. During the former president's term, outlays actually declined faster than inflation, indicating a real decrease of 25 percent.
I can't find the 25 percent... Thanks for the help
I have a question concerning this exercise please :
During the incumbent president's term of office he succeeded in limiting annual increases in the defense budget by an average of 5 percent. His predecessor experienced annual increases of 8 percent. Therefore, the incumbent president should be given credit for the downturn in defense outlays.
Which of the following statements, if true, would most seriously weaken the above conclusion ?
The answer is :
(D) The average annual inflationn rate during the incumbent president's term was 4%, while during his predecessor's it was 10%.
But I dont understand the following explanation :
If inflation averaged 4 percent and spending increased 5 percent, the real value of defense outlays actually increased 25 percent. During the former president's term, outlays actually declined faster than inflation, indicating a real decrease of 25 percent.
I can't find the 25 percent... Thanks for the help












