Multiple choice

The national infrastructure for airport runways and air traffic control requires immediate expansion to accommodate the increase in private, smaller planes. To help fund this expansion, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has proposed a fee for all air travelers. However, this fee would be unfair, as it would impose costs on all travelers to benefit only the few who utilize the new private planes.

Which of the following, if true, would cast the most doubt on the claim that the proposed fee would be unfair?

  1. The existing national airport infrastructure benefits all air travelers.

  2. The fee, if imposed, will have a negligible impact on the overall volume of air travel.

  3. The expansion would reduce the number of delayed flights resulting from small private planes congesting runways.

  4. Travelers who use small private planes are almost uniformly wealthy or traveling on business.

  5. A substantial fee would need to be imposed in order to pay for the expansion costs.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Here the argument states that the imposed fee will be unfair because all travelers will pay it but only the few travelers who utilize private planes will benefit from it. If we can find a reason why everyone will actually benefit from it, and not just those who utilize private planes, then that would effectively weaken this argument.

(1) The existing infrastructure is not what is being discussed. The issue is that a fee is being imposed to pay for infrastructure expansion, so discussing the existing infrastructure on its own is not relevant.

(2) Out of scope. The argument didn't say anything about this fee reducing overall air travel volume. It is very possible that everyone who utilizes air travel continues to do so, but only now they have to pay a fine that for many of them is not viewed as far.
(3) This gets at our prediction, and is thus correct. If the expansion reduces flight delays by eliminating congestion, then probably many air travelers are going to benefit from this infrastructure expansion, not only the few people who utilize private planes.
(4) Completely out of scope. Nobody's wealth is relevant here. (5) Saying that the fee will be large is out of scope. If anything this would seem to strengthen the argument if the fee ends up being substantial for normal travelers, but the magnitude of the fee is in reality out of scope. The issue is simply about whether other travelers having to pay the fee is fair, and it does not matter if the fee is $1,000,000 or $.01 per person.

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