LSAT 117 – Section 3 – Question 13

LSAT 117 - Section 3 - Question 13

October 2004

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT117 S3 Q13
+LR
+Exp
Main conclusion or main point +MC
Net Effect +NetEff
A
0%
138
B
1%
159
C
92%
166
D
0%
160
E
7%
160
128
139
150
 +Easier 146.848 +SubsectionMedium

City council member: Despite the city’s desperate need to exploit any available source of revenue, the mayor has repeatedly blocked council members’ attempts to pass legislation imposing real estate development fees. It is clear that in doing so the mayor is sacrificing the city’s interests to personal interests. The mayor cites figures to show that, in the current market, fees of the size proposed would significantly reduce the number of building starts and thus, on balance, result in a revenue loss to the city. But the important point is that the mayor’s family is heavily involved in real estate development and thus has a strong financial interest in the matter.

Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
The city council member argues that the mayor is disregarding the city’s interests in order to pursue her own financial interests. To support this, the city council member says that the city desperately needs to take advantage of any source of revenue, but the mayor is blocking real estate development fees that would provide this much-needed revenue. The city council member then implies that the mayor’s family’s investment in real estate is influencing her decision to block the development fees, thus putting her own financial interests above the interests of the city.

Identify Conclusion
The city council member’s conclusion is that the mayor is betraying the city’s interests: “the mayor is sacrificing the city’s interests to personal interests.”

A
Imposing real estate development fees is the best way for the city to exploit the available sources of revenue.
This is not a claim made in the argument. We know that the development fees would provide revenue, but we do not know if this is the best way to do so.
B
The city would benefit financially from the passage of legislation imposing real estate development fees.
The council member seems to believe this, but it is not his main conclusion. In fact, he never actually claims this. At best, this is an assumption that supports the main conclusion.
C
In blocking council members’ attempts to impose real estate development fees, the mayor is sacrificing the city’s interests to personal interests.
This is the main conclusion that the argument is trying to support. This claim is supported by the fact that the mayor has personal interests in blocking real estate tax, while the city has an interest in imposing the tax, and the mayor is siding with her own interest.
D
Significantly reducing the number of building starts would not, on balance, result in revenue loss to the city.
This answer is a rejection of the claim made by the mayor. However, the argument does not attempt to directly reject this claim by the mayor, so this answer is not supported by the argument. The argument of the city council member does not address this topic.
E
The mayor’s family has a strong financial interest in preventing the passage of legislation that would impose real estate development fees.
This is a sub-conclusion. This AC is supported by the fact that the mayor’s family is involved in real estate development. However, it is not the main conclusion, because this AC provides support for the overall conclusion that the mayor is favoring her interests over the city’s.

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LSAT PrepTest 117 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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