Critical Reasoning

The people of Prohibitionland are considering banning the service of alcoholic beverages in restaurants to curb unruly behavior on the part of its residents. Proprietors of restaurants in Prohibitionland are protesting the ban on the grounds that it will reduce their revenues and profits. However, several provinces in Prohibitionland enacted restrictions on alcoholic beverages last year, and the sales taxes paid by the restaurants in those provinces rose by an average of 50 percent. In contrast, the sales taxes paid by restaurants located in areas of Prohibitionland that did not have any restrictions rose by an average of 30 percent.

Which of the following, if true, supports the restaurant proprietors' economic stance against the ban?

A. In the provinces that restricted alcoholic beverages, there was a short-term negative impact on restaurant visitation in the beginning of last year.

B. The sales tax in Prohibitionland is lower on food and beverages than it is on other consumer goods, such as clothing.

C. The consumption of alcoholic beverages in Prohibitionland has been on a gradual decline the last 20 years.

D. The restrictions on alcoholic beverages enacted last year allowed for the service of drinks beginning around dinnertime each evening.

E. Overall sales tax revenue did not increase at a substantially higher rate in the provinces that enacted the restrictions on alcoholic beverages than in the rest of Prohibitionland last year.

The answer seems to be E . Is this correct ?

Anaira Mitch wrote:The people of Prohibitionland are considering banning the service of alcoholic beverages in restaurants to curb unruly behavior on the part of its residents. Proprietors of restaurants in Prohibitionland are protesting the ban on the grounds that it will reduce their revenues and profits. However, several provinces in Prohibitionland enacted restrictions on alcoholic beverages last year, and the sales taxes paid by the restaurants in those provinces rose by an average of 50 percent. In contrast, the sales taxes paid by restaurants located in areas of Prohibitionland that did not have any restrictions rose by an average of 30 percent.

Which of the following, if true, supports the restaurant proprietors' economic stance against the ban?

A. In the provinces that restricted alcoholic beverages, there was a short-term negative impact on restaurant visitation in the beginning of last year.

B. The sales tax in Prohibitionland is lower on food and beverages than it is on other consumer goods, such as clothing.

C. The consumption of alcoholic beverages in Prohibitionland has been on a gradual decline the last 20 years.

D. The restrictions on alcoholic beverages enacted last year allowed for the service of drinks beginning around dinnertime each evening.

E. Overall sales tax revenue did not increase at a substantially higher rate in the provinces that enacted the restrictions on alcoholic beverages than in the rest of Prohibitionland last year.

The restaurant proprietors are opposed to a ban on alcohol. We want to show that they're right to be opposed to the ban, despite the fact that restaurants that enacted restrictions saw their sales taxes (and therefore their sales) increase by more than restaurants that did not enact restrictions.

Notice the language shift: we're evaluating an argument regarding a ban on alcoholic beverages, but we're given evidence about restaurants that merely enacted restrictions. If the restaurants enacting restrictions were, in fact, still serving alcoholic beverages at peak operating hours, then this evidence would no longer be relevant for evaluating the wisdom of a blanket ban, and thus, there'd still be reason to believe that a ban would have negative consequences for the impacted restaurants. This is what D gives us.