Critical Reasoning

Of the people who moved from one state to another when they retired, the proportion who retired to SunState has decreased by 10 percent over the past five years. Since many local businesses in SunState cater to retirees, this decline is likely to have a noticeably negative economic effect on these businesses.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

a. SunState attracts more people who move from one state to another when they retire than does any other state.
b. There are far more local businesses in SunState that cater to tourists than there are local businesses that cater to retirees.
c. The number of retirees who have moved out of SunState to accept re-employment in other states has increased over the past five years.
d. SunState has lower property taxes than any other state, making the state a magnet for retirees.
e. The total number of people who retired and moved to another state for their retirement has increased significantly over the past five years.


OA : e

The answer is E. Try playing with numbers.

Say five years ago there were 1,000 retirees who changed states and 30% went to SunState. That would mean 300 to SunState.

Assume this year there were 2,000 retirees who changed states and only 27% went to SunState. That would mean 540 to SunState.

This is a classic problem. Anytime you see proportions and absolutes mixed in a problem you should always check to see whether that affects the answer.