Argument:
"The inflow of immigrant workers into our community has put a downward pressure on wages. In fact, the average compensation of unskilled labor in our city has declined by nearly 10% over the past 5 years. Therefore, to protect our local economy, it is essential to impose a moratorium on further immigration."
Response:
The passage above is about the link of an inflow of immigrant workers to the compensation for unskilled labor in a given community. The author concludes that the local economy will be protected if a moratorium is placed on further immigration. Included as a premise is a statement that the inflow of immigrant workers has put a downward pressure on wages. The other premise is the fact that the average compensation of unskilled labor in the city has declined by nearly 10% over the past 5 years. There are a number of flaws with the argument and three will be described. The first is that the author assumes that immigrants are taking unskilled labor positions. The second is that the author does not mention how long the inflow of immigrants has been taking place in the local community. The third is there is no mention about other trends in the local economy. The fourth is the author does not discuss any facts or trends regarding the local labor force.
As mentioned above, the first flaw is that in order for the author to draw the conclusion, an assumption on the type of jobs immigrant workers are taking. The strongest premise in the argument states that average compensation for unskilled labor has decreased. There are no statements regarding the type of jobs immigrant workers are taking so an assumption needs to be made that they are taking unskilled jobs. This assumption is made for the other flaws described below.
The second flaw is the author does not mention the length of time the inflow has been taking place. Data about the timing of immigration would further help the author's conclusion. For instance, if data was shown that the inflow of immigrants is a recent phenomena, happening within the last 5 years, then a stronger conclusion could be drawn linking the inflow with average compensation in the local community. Therefore, this link would be stronger, which then would serve as a stronger premise for the author's main conclusion.
The third flaw is the lack of discussion about other parts of the local economy. For instance, if the author cited that the job market has been steady over the past 5 years with only the inflow of immigrants varying, then the author has a stronger link between the inflow of immigrants and average compensation for unskilled workers. If, on average, there is the same number of unskilled jobs in the local community today as there was 5 years ago, then the inflow of immigrants would increase the supply of unskilled labor which can decrease the average compensation for unskilled labor. The author's conclusion would be stronger if information regarding this was present in the argument.
As described above, there are a number of flaws with the argument, ranging from an assumption about the type of jobs immigrant workers take to the lack of other data pertaining to the current economy of the local community. If the author provided more data for these flaws, then the author could have drawn a stronger conclusion.
Thanks!
"The inflow of immigrant workers into our community has put a downward pressure on wages. In fact, the average compensation of unskilled labor in our city has declined by nearly 10% over the past 5 years. Therefore, to protect our local economy, it is essential to impose a moratorium on further immigration."
Response:
The passage above is about the link of an inflow of immigrant workers to the compensation for unskilled labor in a given community. The author concludes that the local economy will be protected if a moratorium is placed on further immigration. Included as a premise is a statement that the inflow of immigrant workers has put a downward pressure on wages. The other premise is the fact that the average compensation of unskilled labor in the city has declined by nearly 10% over the past 5 years. There are a number of flaws with the argument and three will be described. The first is that the author assumes that immigrants are taking unskilled labor positions. The second is that the author does not mention how long the inflow of immigrants has been taking place in the local community. The third is there is no mention about other trends in the local economy. The fourth is the author does not discuss any facts or trends regarding the local labor force.
As mentioned above, the first flaw is that in order for the author to draw the conclusion, an assumption on the type of jobs immigrant workers are taking. The strongest premise in the argument states that average compensation for unskilled labor has decreased. There are no statements regarding the type of jobs immigrant workers are taking so an assumption needs to be made that they are taking unskilled jobs. This assumption is made for the other flaws described below.
The second flaw is the author does not mention the length of time the inflow has been taking place. Data about the timing of immigration would further help the author's conclusion. For instance, if data was shown that the inflow of immigrants is a recent phenomena, happening within the last 5 years, then a stronger conclusion could be drawn linking the inflow with average compensation in the local community. Therefore, this link would be stronger, which then would serve as a stronger premise for the author's main conclusion.
The third flaw is the lack of discussion about other parts of the local economy. For instance, if the author cited that the job market has been steady over the past 5 years with only the inflow of immigrants varying, then the author has a stronger link between the inflow of immigrants and average compensation for unskilled workers. If, on average, there is the same number of unskilled jobs in the local community today as there was 5 years ago, then the inflow of immigrants would increase the supply of unskilled labor which can decrease the average compensation for unskilled labor. The author's conclusion would be stronger if information regarding this was present in the argument.
As described above, there are a number of flaws with the argument, ranging from an assumption about the type of jobs immigrant workers take to the lack of other data pertaining to the current economy of the local community. If the author provided more data for these flaws, then the author could have drawn a stronger conclusion.
Thanks!
