Critical Reasoning

The postal service is badly mismanaged. Forty years ago, first-class letter delivery cost only three cents. Since then, the price has increased nearly tenfold, with an actual decrease in the speed and reliability of service.
Each of the following statements, if true, would tend to weaken the argument above EXCEPT:
(A) The volume of mail handled by the postal service has increased dramatically over the last forty years.
(B) Unprecedented increases in the cost of fuel for trucks and planes have put severe upward pressures on postal delivery costs.
(C) Private delivery services usually charge more than does the postal service for comparable delivery charges.
(D) The average delivery time for a first-class letter four decades ago was actually slightly longer than it is today.
(E) The average level of consumer prices overall has increased more than 300 percent over the last forty years.

IMO, C is best.

The argument proceeds as such:

Because Price/Cost is up and Speed/Reliability is down, therefore the Postal Service is mismanaged.

A) Weakens because if it is true the conclusion is wrong: cost increases/speed decreases are not due to mismanagement but due to dramatically increased volume.
B) Weakens because if it is true the conclusion is wrong: cost increases are not due to mismanagement but due to unprecedented fuel cost increases.
C) Doesn't weaken. In fact, seems irrelevant to the argument.
D) Weakens because if it is true a premise is wrong: delivery speed isn't down, its up.
E) Weakens because if it is true the conclusion is wrong: cost/price increases are not due to mismanagement but due to inflation/CPI increases.

Yeah, C seems like the best answer. Although, it seems as if its out of context, but nevertheless, other choices are ruled out because they weaken the argument.

Please post OA.

subhasis8877 wrote:The postal service is badly mismanaged. Forty years ago, first-class letter delivery cost only three cents. Since then, the price has increased nearly tenfold, with an actual decrease in the speed and reliability of service.
Each of the following statements, if true, would tend to weaken the argument above EXCEPT:
(A) The volume of mail handled by the postal service has increased dramatically over the last forty years.
(B) Unprecedented increases in the cost of fuel for trucks and planes have put severe upward pressures on postal delivery costs.
(C) Private delivery services usually charge more than does the postal service for comparable delivery charges.
(D) The average delivery time for a first-class letter four decades ago was actually slightly longer than it is today.
(E) The average level of consumer prices overall has increased more than 300 percent over the last forty years.

IMO, the only one that does NOT weaken the argument is D, in that it say that 40 years ago delivery times where slightly (that is, just a little bit) higher than today while the prices at the time where 10 times lower. Hence, the corresponding increase in price doesn't justify the increase in costs, hence the posts are mismanaged and this is the OA.
C weakens the argument in that it says: "hey guys, look at private companies! They are more expensive than us, so this means we are not so bad after all". This WEAKENS the argument and therefore cannot be the OA.

just my 2 cents, please post the OA.

ciao!

OA is C. Great Explanations..

The postal service is badly mismanaged. Forty years ago, first-class letter delivery cost only three cents. Since then, the price has increased nearly tenfold, with an actual decrease in the speed and reliability of service.
Each of the following statements, if true, would tend to weaken the argument above EXCEPT:
(A) The volume of mail handled by the postal service has increased dramatically over the last forty years.
(B) Unprecedented increases in the cost of fuel for trucks and planes have put severe upward pressures on postal delivery costs.
(C) Private delivery services usually charge more than does the postal service for comparable delivery charges.
(D) The average delivery time for a first-class letter four decades ago was actually slightly longer than it is today.
(E) The average level of consumer prices overall has increased more than 300 percent over the last forty years.[/quote]

OA is E. Any explanations welcome!

May be what the answer is saying is that the increase in $ is not due to management but to overall prices (?) So this does not weaken the argument.

I think subhasis8877 has already given the OA as C, which seems logical too.
@El Cucu: How are u saying the OA is E?

The conclusion is that postal services are bad today, than earlier.

E will weaken it as it says the avg consumer prices have gone up, so there is nothing wrong in postal services increasing prices(which is one of the factors cited for they being bad).
If there is nothing wrong, then postal services are doing ok or well today.
Weakens.

Similarly, A,B and D weakens it.

C is the answer thus.

I dont seem to agree here with C.

If private companies charge more for comparable delivery charges how does that support or strengthen the argument.

Our sole goal is to go with the argument and criticize the postal service's management to get to the right answer.

Now lets analyze C. Say, the postal service charges $5 for the first class mail, then the Private companies charge $8 for the same first class mail. The quality of service of the private companies is unknown and out of scope. So all we can interpret from this statement is that Private companies charge more than postal services which is explicitly supporting the post office that their prices are cheaper.

So how is the answer C!!!

I go with D, for the reason that mjjking mentioned above.

@hk

You answered it urself.
But i'll explain.

We have to find odd man out in such questions.
So, 4 options will weaken the argument here, and one will not.
So that doesn't mean that odd man out should strengthen the arg OR support it.
It should just not weaken it, in this case here.

That's what C is doing.

I hope u got it now.

I believe the correct answer should be C