Consumer activist: By allowing major

Answer choices

1. A

   Too Strong / Out of Scope9% picked this

   Before the recent change in regulatory policy, there was no advantage in having easy access to

   Option (A) addresses whether there was an advantage to having access to a large metropolitan airport before deregulation, but it doesn’t connect government regulation to the continuation of those less-profitable routes. It misses the crucial link between regulation and the airlines’ routing decisions.

   9%
2. B

   Irrelevant Quality3% picked this

   When any sizable group of consumers is seriously disadvantaged by a change in government policy, that

   Option (B) brings in a normative stance about reversing policy when consumers are disadvantaged. However, the activist’s argument assumes a negative effect exists; it does not necessarily demand that disadvantage automatically justifies policy reversal.

   3%
3. C

   Irrelevant Causality3% picked this

   Government regulation of industry almost always works to the advantage

   Option (C) makes a general claim that government regulation usually benefits consumers. While this might be broadly true, it does not serve to connect the specific fact that major airlines dropped routes with the role that regulation had played in maintaining those routes before deregulation.

   3%
4. D

   Correct70% picked this

   At the time of the regulatory change, the major airlines were maintaining their less profitable routes at least in

   Why this is right

   Option (D) is necessary because it provides the link between regulation and route maintenance. The activist’s argument depends on the idea that prior to deregulation, government requirements had compelled major airlines to operate even less-profitable routes—routes that were subsequently jettisoned once those regulations were lifted. Without assuming that government requirements were partly responsible for sustaining these routes, the argument that deregulation harmed certain consumers loses its foundation.

   Skill tested: Necessary Assumption · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   70%
5. E

   Irrelevant Comparison16% picked this

   Regional airlines lack the resources to provide consumers with service of the same quality as that provided

   Option (E) argues that regional airlines cannot match the service quality of major airlines. Although that might support the activist’s concern, it targets the response offered by the industry representative rather than the causal link showing why deregulation led to a reduction in service. It does not address the assumption that government regulation had maintained those less-profitable routes in the first place.

   16%