argument216 受斑竹指点～看有否进展？

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TOPIC: ARGUMENT216 - The following appeared in a magazine article about planning for retirement.

"Because of its spectacular natural beauty and consistent climate, Clearview should be a top choice for anyone seeking a place to retire. As a bonus, housing costs in Clearview have fallen significantly during the past year, and real estate taxes remain lower than those in neighboring towns. Nevertheless, Clearview's mayor promises many new programs to improve schools, streets, and public services. Retirees in Clearview can also expect excellent health care as they grow older, since the number of physicians in the area is far greater than the national average."
WORDS: 508          TIME: 上午 12:40:09          DATE: 2006-7-23

Based on the some scant evidence mentioned above, the author recommends that as for anyone seeking an ideal place for retiring, the Clearview should be a top choice. Plausible as it seems to be, however,

To begin with, the so-called bonus in the argument is dubious. After all, the mere facts that the fallen housing costs and lower estate taxes is so ramshackle that any sensible retired can be convinced that the total living costs in Clear view are indeed lower than other cities. The author fails to provide detailed information regarding the comparison of housing costs between Clearview and other cities. Lacking such vital evidence, our doubts would emerge: perhaps decreased housing costs are still far higher than those of areas; or perhaps it is just the unreasonably high costs that compel the government in C to lower them. Besides, in view of the real estate taxes, they may constitute only a little portion of the holistic costs involved in the daily life. The old doubtlessly consider other costs, including the prices of the local food, the transportation fees, as well as the telecommunication fees. Thus, only the unclear level of housing costs and the lower real estate taxes can attract the retirement by no means.

Besides, granted the lower costs in Clearview, the mayor's promises could lend little credence to the suggestion. Without any information and previous performance of the current mayor, we cannot guarantee that his/her promise would be put into practice, or even if he/her practice the promise, it is entirely possible that these plans will not achieve their originally expected effects or even be counterproductive as a result. For example, the playground in the school will be replaced with a meeting hall, which would do little use to the students and awoke discontent among the students. More importantly, the promises may have little to do with drawing the old. If an old man does not own a car, he would care little about the condition of the streets, instead, what he cares may focus on the stores available in the area, and the healthy facilities in the communities. Thus, given the authenticity and efficacy of the mayor’s promises, the retirement may be still reluctant to move into Clearview because of lacking other detailed information concerning their daily lives.

What if we take a look at the condition of the local health care? Does the total amount of the physicians necessarily indicate the quality of the health care? Definitely not. Imagine, in a particular health center, all the physicians are in poor levels, with high probability of misdiagnosing and prescribing the futile or even counterproductive medicines. Under such circumstance, however abundant the staff may be in the center, the status in quo can only deter the retirees.

To sum up, before precluding all the negative potential effects as well as rendering more detailed information regarding the health condition and other dimensions of the retirees’ daily life, the author’s recommendation appears alluring to the retirees by no means because of the logical fallacies in the argument.

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