PT44.S4.Q20 - Acme Retirement Plan

Lime Green Dot

Hey guys,

For this question, I’m having trouble seeing why we must assume that “having a plan chosen for them by employers” must mean the winners didn’t still clearly think what a great plan the Acme retirement plan was.

Why couldn’t it be that employers chose the plan for them and all the winners still recognize how great the plan supposedly is? Just b/c it’s involuntary doesn’t mean you think it sucks.

I feel the correct A/C (D) requires that additional assumption [employers chose it → some winners don’t think Acme’s plan as awesome]; can someone chime in?

Many thanks!

Admin Note: https://7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-44-section-4-question-20/

nnnnnnzzzz

Oh I posted a comment there for you. Let me paste it here.

This is my take:

I think it is about belief versus fact, you can have a belief that it’s a good plan for you, but the fact is that doesn’t mean it’s good for everyone else. The AC D basically said that you think it’s good not because it’s in fact good but because you don’t have any other choice, so your opinion is just a belief and not a fact.

If you have an ability to shop for retirement plans and choose one, then your opinion has some evidence to back it up.

Lime Green Dot

Thanks for your comment and doubly posting it here, @nz889910 !

I think I get what you're saying. I also understood that your own opinion may not translate into a fact about everyone else. I saw this loophole b/w the sub-conclusion and main conclusion.

JY was saying the gap is b/w P1 [each winner of EMP... covered by ARP] and the sub-conclusion [EMP winners clearly recognize how great ARP is], rather than the sub-conclusion and main one.

While I get that having the freedom to choose may give your opinion more credibility (maybe not - what if you're not a good judge of great retirement plans even if you're an EMP winner?), my contention with AC (D) is that you can also still have a misguided belief that the plan is great in spite of not having chosen it. Sure, you're opinion is still an opinion here, and the first loophole still applies. But I feel in having a right answer like (D), there is an assumption we're being asked to make.

Do you agree this is an assumption, and if so, are we supposed to acknowledge and accept this as a "reasonable" one to make in choosing (D)?

Lime Green Dot

For the benefit of anyone else who may see this, re-posting my "enlightenment" here.

I think, looking back at the stim, the key words are “clearly recognized.”

True, it is not necessarily the case that one would “clearly recognize” what a great plan Acme has even if one chose it voluntarily. There are lots of people who make choices out of expedience or impulse w/o carefully thinking it through. But this seems far less likely than the other possibility–if someone else chose this plan for you.

So what’s happening now is that you’ve got a retirement plan you haven’t chosen. Perhaps at best, you’re like “Meh, whatever.” At worst, you might despise it intensely. But now, you merely having the plan ≠ you clearly recognizing how awesome it is.

You might, but the fact that it’s pretty much just as likely that you might not is an indication that this is an assumption, and an unwarranted one, the argument is making. Side note, b/c of how strong the language of “clearly not” is, it’s a high bar, and it can be argued that you probably don’t clearly see the awesomeness of Acme’s plan. Anyways, this is why the assumption pointed out in (D) is a FLAW.

That’s my best take!