In order to relieve Briggsville’s notorious traffic congestion…
The following is a memorandum from the office of Mayor Harrison Smith Jones.
“In order to relieve Briggsville’s notorious traffic congestion, Mayor Harrison Smith Jones plans to build a multi-million dollar subway system. The subway will run through the major downtown areas, a part of the town where buses serve as the only form of public transportation. For years, residents have been complaining both about inconsistent buses, and the general lack of safety while riding the buses. Additionally, the subway will be running twenty-four hours a day. Since motorists will spend less time in traffic, Mayor Harrison Smith Jones expects to see an immediate increase in worker productivity, which will improve the economy of Briggsville.”
Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on these assumptions and what the implications are for the argument if the assumptions prove unwarranted.
GRE AWA: Argument Task
The argument posits the notion that the installation of a new subway system will result in an increase in worker productivity and the economy as a whole is bound to improve. Although the author cites the current issues in the public transportation system, we are deprived of enough evidence to judge the feasibility of the proposal to build a multi-million dollar subway system. Moreover, the author draws correlations between different factors without citing any study or research to support those relations. Thus, the validity of the argument hinges on several unstated assumptions, the veracity of which must be explored in order to solidify the argument.
Firstly, we are provided the location of the subway system but we do not know the traffic condition of that area. The author mentions that the subway will run through the downtown areas, nonetheless, we do not know whether those areas are the ones with the most traffic congestion. Moreover, the assumption here is that this subway system will relieve Briggsville’s population of the traffic congestion issue. Nevertheless, there could be other more notorious issues that are causing these traffic problems. For example, the housing situation and population density in that area are likely to contribute to the traffic congestion problem. Furthermore, it could be the case that the technical issues in traffic control are playing a role in exacerbating the problem. Without knowing the present situation of traffic in that area, the argument cannot be justified.
Secondly, the passage mentions about the dissatisfaction of the residents with the conditions pertaining to the buses of the area. It could be the case that the negative aspects of the bus systems are transferred to the proposed subway system. For instance, the subway system might also be affected by the safety issues which are rampant in the bus systems. Another key point that the residents complain about the buses is its inconsistency. The author assumes that the subway system will be void of these issues. Nevertheless, without knowing the security systems of the subway system, and their maintenance cycles, the argument simply rests on a hypothetical scenario.
The subway is proposed to run for twenty-four hours a day. The assumption being that all throughout the day, the traffic congestion is acute. However, it is likely that congestion occurs during some specific time of the day. For instance, the morning and evening rush hours are likely to be the time when the congestion occurs rather than past midnight. Nevertheless, making the subway run for twenty-four hours would not mitigate the congestion issue at the rush hours.
Lastly, the author draws a correlation between the time spent in traffic to the immediate increase in productivity among the workers. The assumption being that, worker productivity is inversely correlated with the amount of time spent in traffic. But this theory is not supported by any evidence or past data nor are we presented with any study in this field. At this point, this is simply an assumption made by the Mayor. It could be the case that there are other negative factors that are impeding the improvement of productivity. Without further evidence, the assumption is rife with fallacy.
The benefit brought forth by a new subway system in an area where public transportation is rife with problematic issues is undeniable. Nevertheless, the assumptions made by the Mayor and the correlations drawn is unwarranted without the citation of any study or evidence to back up the claims. Furthermore, the correlation drawn between the improvement of the economy of Bragsville and the installment of the subway system is not backed by any substantial data. Without assessing this evidence, the validity of the argument cannot be established and the feasibility of installing a multi-million dollar subway system cannot be justified.
