Mykayla: An analysis of government contracts showed that, on average, the government paid substantially more to hire contractors than it would have cost for government employees to perform comparable services.
Speaker 1 Summary
Javier concludes that the government could save money by hiring private contractors to replace government employees. This is because government workers earn more per hour than comparative private sector employees.
Speaker 2 Summary
Mykayla points out that, as shown by an analysis of government contracts, the government pays a lot more on average to hire contractors than it pays for government employees to do comparable things. Her implicit point is that the government probably wouldn’t save money by replacing government workers with comparable private sector employees.
Objective
We’re looking for a point of disagreement. The speakers disagree about whether the government could save money by hiring private contractors to perform services now performed by government employees.
A
the government could reduce spending by reducing the number of employees on its payroll
Not a point of disagreement. The speakers likely agree that the government could cut spending by reducing the number of its employees. The issue is whether replacing those employees with private contractors would cost more or less than keeping those employees on the payroll.
B
the government would save money if it hired private contractors to perform services now performed by government employees
This is a point of disagreement. Javier thinks the government would save money. Mykayla provides evidence suggesting the government would not save money.
C
government workers generally are paid higher hourly wages than comparable private sector workers
Mykayla doesn’t express an opinion. She doesn’t discuss the wages of government workers and private sector employees. She only discusses the amount the government paid for services. This doesn’t necessarily translate to wages, since payments can include various non-wage expenses.
D
every service that is currently performed by government employees could be performed by private contractors
Neither expresses an opinion. Nobody specifies whether every service could be done by a private contractor. In any case, even if they did express an opinion, there’s no indication the speakers have opposing views.
E
the total amount of money that the government pays its employees annually is greater than the total amount that it spends on contractors annually
Neither expresses an opinion. Javier discusses comparative hourly wages, and Mykayla discusses comparative payments on contracts, but neither discusses total spending on employees vs. contractors.
Summary
Seasonal allergy symptoms are the immune system's response to pollen in the air. When a large amount of pollen is inhaled, it can trigger allergy symptoms. While there are medications to suppress these symptoms, a more effective strategy is to stay indoors during dry, windy days during allergy season.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Staying inside reduces allergy symptoms and limits the amount of pollen one inhales.
A
Medicines that minimize seasonal allergy symptoms prevent people from inhaling large amounts of pollen.
There is no support that these medicines prevent people from inhaling pollen. The stimulus only says that they minimize symptoms
B
Most types of pollen do not cause seasonal allergy symptoms.
There is no support for what “most” types of pollen do or don’t do.
C
People who stay indoors on dry, windy days during allergy season are unlikely to inhale large amounts of pollen.
The stimulus says that staying indoors is a more effective strategy to minimize allergy symptoms. Allergy symptoms are caused by inhaling large amounts of pollen. It is not unreasonable to assume that staying indoors makes this unlikely.
D
People who take medicines that minimize seasonal allergy symptoms tend to stay indoors on dry, windy days during allergy season.
The stimulus only says that medicines limit symptoms. There is no link between medicine and staying indoors.
E
People who experience seasonal allergy symptoms typically use air filters that remove pollen from the air in their homes.
This is not supported because there is no mention of air filters at all within the stimulus.