Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens Ron’s argument

QUESTION

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens Ron’s argument?

A) The ten most highly compensated employees have an average salary of $250,000.
B) The company offers extremely generous benefit packages.
C) Compensation levels are periodically reviewed by top management and the organization’s board of directors.
D) Ron’s salary is higher than $30,000.
E) The amount of work done by employees this year is similar to the amount of work done last year.

ANSWER

Answer: A
Explanation: A) Choice A speaks to the fallacy behind one of Ron’s claims. The average salary doesn’t tell you much about the typical salary because just a few people with high salaries can make the average salary skyrocket. For example, if a billionaire walked into a room of poor people, then the average wealth in the room would go way up, but the poor people wouldn’t be any richer. If Choice A were true, then Ron’s claim about the average salary wouldn’t mean much. The company has fewer than 100 employees and an average salary of $50,000, but if Choice A were true, then at least half of the total compensation goes to the top ten. Choice B strengthens Ron’s argument. Choice C tells us where the numbers come from but nothing about their fairness. Choice D sort of suggests that Ron may have some selfish motives, but it has no effect on the logic of his argument. Choice E is too vague to help because we don’t know anything about the work burden. It could have been low both years, or high both years. If anything, consistency of work demands argues against the notion that workers aren’t being treated fairly. Nonetheless, Choice E really doesn’t matter either way.