Bank depositors in the United States are all financially

[sunny.jain]

Source : Test Magic Forums.

[deleted because problem is from a banned source - see below]

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the economist's argument?

(A) Before the government started to insure depositors against bank failure, there was a lower rate of bank failure than there is now.
(B) When the government did not insure deposits, frequent bank failures occurred as a result of depositors' fears of losing money in bank failures.
(C) Surveys show that a significant proportion of depositors are aware that their deposits are insured by the government.
(D) There is an upper limit on the amount of an individual's deposit that the government will insure, but very few individuals' deposits exceed this limit.
(E) The security of a bank against failure depends on the percentage of its assets that are loaned out and also on how much risk its loans involve.

My understanding:
US gov security --> ppl are not selective --> Causing bank to fail.

X ---> Y
X: gov security, ppl non selective nature
Y: Bank's failure.

A) relating bank failure with Gov security --> strengthening the argument.
B) without security, depositor's fear --> selective nature --> causing banks failures.
C) relating security with depositors. : Irrelevant.
D) Talking about limit of money , gov will secure: Again Irrelevant
E) Bank failure --> depend on A,B.

Out of B and E: both are actually weakening the argument. I am confuse which one to choose now?

[minji1005]

I chose B.

Here's my reasoning:
Both B and E could have been the weakening statements if it wasn't for the limiting word "partly."

In the argument, the economist argues that government's insurance is "partly responsible for the high rate of bank failures," suggesting that there may exist other factors that cause the increased failure rate. Therefore, the statement E cannot be the right answer because presenting a different reason that results in the rise of bank failure rate does nothing to weaken the argument.

[arjeet.itbhu]

hii Stacey..
why the answer is not C
as in power score it is mention for the assumption questions those answers are also correct which is connecting the premises.
i think the answer is C..
please correct me
thankss

[tim]

the body of this question is plagiarized word for word from the GMAT's Verbal Review book, and as such the text is not allowed on our forum. i would also caution you not to use practice material from sources other than GMAT or ManhattanGMAT, as we cannot vouch for the validity of the information you get from them and use of such materials may actually hurt your performance on the GMAT..