The economies of some industrialized countries

Answer choices

1. A

   Irrelevant Comparison4% picked this

   older workers have acquired skills that are extremely valuable and that their

   The author never said older workers have unique skills that younger workers lack. It’s enough that older workers are experienced and productive. We don’t need them to have “extremely valuable” and “unique” skills. We just need viable workers to avert this labor shortage (not necessarily superior workers).

   4%
2. B

   Out of Scope: unprepared for idleness1% picked this

   workers in industrialized countries are often unprepared to face the economic consequences

   Whether older workers are financially prepared or unprepared for retirement is irrelevant to solving labor shortages through continuing employment. This answer has to do with how older people feel about retirement, not about whether allowing them to work past 65 would alleviate the labor shortage.

   1%
3. C

   Correct93% picked this

   a large number of workers in some industrialized countries would continue working beyond the age of sixty-five if workers in those countries

   Why this is right

   The argument does need to assume that if we allowed people to work beyond 65, many of them would. After all, if very few people chose to work beyond 65, then those older people would not be able to solve our large labor shortage. This sort of objection is one of the common themes with arguing that a Plan would fail: it's basically saying that "people wouldn't cooperate with this Plan the way the author is intending".

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

   93%
4. D

   Out of Scope: first instituted0% picked this

   mandatory retirement at age sixty-five was first instituted when life expectancy was considerably lower than

   We don't care at all about why or when mandatory retirement first began. We only care about whether getting rid of it now would fix our labor shortage.

   0%
5. E

   Opposite2% picked this

   a substantial proportion of the population of officially retired workers is actually engaged

   If a substantial proportion of officially retired workers is already employed, then removing mandatory retirement wouldn’t be as critical to preventing a shortage. This runs counter to the argument’s assumption that many workers are currently forced out at sixty-five.

   2%