PrepTest 107, Section 4, Question 16
Franklin: It is inconsistent to pay sports celebrities(43 more words not shown)
Franklin's and Tomeka's statements provide(17 more words not shown)
- ANobel laureates should(4 more words not shown)
- BNobel laureates should(6 more words not shown)
- CSports celebrities and(8 more words not shown)
- DThere is no(12 more words not shown)
- EThe social contributions(11 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Both groups work hard and have rare talents. Does that settle what they should be paid?
Franklin thinks the much higher pay for sports celebrities is inconsistent with those similarities. But people might pay to watch a basketball game without paying a comparable amount to watch scientists at work. That would give employers a reason to pay the basketball players more, even if we value the scientists' work enormously.
Tomeka makes that kind of response. Sports celebrities generate millions for employers through ticket sales and television rights. “Gate receipts” just means money from admissions. She identifies a difference that Franklin's comparison leaves out.
What we’re looking for
The disagreement concerns whether there is a sensible basis for the pay difference. Franklin says the two groups' shared talent and hard work make the disparity inconsistent. Tomeka offers revenue as a reason for it. Neither speaker has to deny the other's claims about talent, and neither has to rank the groups' overall value to society.
Working the answers
- A
Taking Nobel laureates seriously is different from paying them a particular amount. Franklin objects to a salary difference, while Tomeka explains it through earnings for employers. Neither tells us enough about how seriously laureates should be treated to establish a disagreement here.
- B
Franklin never demands that Nobel laureates be paid more than sports celebrities. Equal pay might satisfy his concern. Since he does not clearly take the position B describes, we cannot use it as a point of disagreement, regardless of what Tomeka might think.
- C
Franklin says both groups work hard, which does not itself say they work equally hard. Tomeka does not challenge their effort at all. Her response concerns the money sports celebrities generate. We lack opposing positions on equal effort.
- DCorrect
Franklin's claim that the difference is inconsistent supports the view that there is no rational basis for it. Tomeka responds with a proposed basis: sports celebrities generate much more money for their employers through tickets and television rights. She is saying the pay difference can make sense once that difference is considered. That gives us opposing responses to D.
- E
Should sports celebrities contribute more to society? That might be an interesting separate debate, but it is not this one. The speakers discuss the basis for different pay. Neither calls for celebrities to increase their social contributions, so there is no stated disagreement to identify.
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