LSAT 156 – Section 2 – Question 18

LSAT 156 - Section 2 - Question 18

July 2020

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT156 S2 Q18
+LR
Sufficient assumption +SA
A
10%
152
B
7%
149
C
52%
162
D
27%
151
E
4%
152
147
156
165
 +Harder 145.275 +SubsectionEasier

Dapolito: The city council recently passed a rent-control ordinance. But a recent study of fifteen local communities shows clearly that rent control increases the price and lowers the quality and availability of rental units. Thus, it can be concluded that it is not the city council’s objective to preserve the quality and availability of local rentals.

Summary
The author concludes that the city council does not have the objective of preserving the quality and availability of local rentals. Why? Because the following:
The city council recently passed a rent-control ordinance.
A recent study shows that rent control increases the price and lowers the quality and availability of rental units.

Missing Connection
The conclusion asserts something about the city council’s purpose (objective). But the premises don’t say anything that establishes whether the city council has or doesn’t have the purpose of preserving the quality and availability of local rentals.
Even though the study shows that rent control will hurt the quality and availability of rentals, there’s no evidence that the city council believed that the study was accurate or was even aware of the study. To make the argument valid, we want to establish that the passage of the rent-control ordinance, in light of the recent study, allows us infer the council knew the rent-control ordinance would harm the quality/availability of local rentals.

A
The recent study of local rent-control ordinances was conducted by impartial investigators.
(A) helps establish the reliability of the study. But it doesn’t establish that the city council knew about the study’s results or believed its findings. So it doesn’t establish anything about the city council’s objectives.
B
Rent control is not an appropriate topic for consideration by the city council.
What is or is not appropriate for the city council to consider does not establish anything about the city council’s objectives.
C
The members of the city council who voted for rent control agree with the study’s conclusions about rent control.
(C) establishes that the people who voted for the ordinance were aware of and agreed with the study’s conclusions. That establishes that the council’s objective was not to preserve the quality and availability of local rentals. After all, they knew that the ordinance would decrease the quality/availability of rentals, yet still passed it.
D
Some members of the city council who voted for rent control stand to profit from rent control.
The fact some members will profit from rent control does not establish that they voted to pass rent control for self-interested reasons. These members might have thought the rent control would increase the quality and availability of rentals.
E
The city council sometimes acts in an arbitrary and irrational manner.
The fact the council sometimes acts in an arbitrary/irrational manner doesn’t establish that with respect to this ordiance, it acted in an arbitrary/irrational manner.

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LSAT PrepTest 156 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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