400 words Maximum, one page Maximum (If you have a "works Cited" list, that can be on a second page and does not count against 400 word maximum)

This essay must be your own work. To present anyone else's work is F. will be check on "Turn it in".

Consider the following brief argument:  

If the federal government budget deficit increases, there will be decreased long-run economic growth.

Write a brief essay in which you critique this argument by doing the following:

1. identify an implicit assumption that is part of this argument.

2. Change that assumption and argue to a new conclusion.

3. Suggest what empirical evidence a scholar might gather to test your alternative argument.

For example:

Argument:  Students should not pay their tuition fees in college.

1. Because students have lower income.

2. When higher education comes with a cost, it creates an inefficient allocation of the human resource. This is because when there is a financial constraint, some students from the less privileged background are forced to choose the courses that either is not too costly or have good employability prospects and not necessarily courses that the students want most or are best at. 

3. Students should pay the full cost of their own university studies, rather than have free higher education provided by the government.