An Essential Part of Economic Freedom is the Freedom GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Question

An essential part of economic freedom is the freedom to choose how to use our income: how much to spend on ourselves and on what items; how much to save and in what form; how much to give away and to (5) whom. Currently, more than 40 percent of our income is disposed of on our behalf by the government at the federal, state, and local levels combined. One of us once suggested a new national holiday, ‘Personal Independence Day—that day in the year when we (10) stop working to pay the expenses of government... and start working to pay for the items we severally and individually choose in light of our own needs and desires.’ In 1929, that holiday would have come on Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, February 12; today it (15) would come about May 30; if present trends were to continue, it would coincide with the other Independence Day, July 4, around 1988. Of course, we have something to say about how much of our income is spent on our behalf by (20) governments. We participate in the political process that has resulted in the government’s spending an amount equal to more than 40 percent of our income. Majority rule is a necessary and desirable expedient. It is, however, very different from the kind of (25) freedom you have when you shop at a supermarket. When you enter the voting booth once a year, you almost always vote for a package rather than for specific items. If you are in the majority, you will at best get both the items you favored and the ones you (30) opposed but regarded as on balance less important. Generally, you end up with something different from what you thought you voted for. If you are in the minority, you must conform to the majority vote and wait for your turn to come. When you vote daily in (35) the supermarket, you get precisely what you voted for, and so does everyone else. The ballot box produces conformity without unanimity; the marketplace, unanimity without conformity. That is why it is desirable to use the ballot box, so far as (40) possible, only for those decisions where conformity is essential.

‘Many of the most popular diets today, including the so-called “Paleo diet,”’ is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 4 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. The authors of the passage repeat “40 percent” (line 5 and line 22) most likely in order to

(A) support a claim they believe many people will doubt.
(B) emphasize a number they believe is too large.
(C) correct a perception they believe is incorrect.
(D) ensure the reader understands how they arrived at their calculations.
(E) provide the reader with raw data from which to draw a conclusion.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that, over time, Personal Independence Day would occur later in the year because

(A) people are unaware of how much of their income goes to taxes each year.
(B) people’s incomes are not growing as rapidly as they were in the past.
(C) people are spending a greater percentage of their income each year on taxes.
(D) people misunderstand the underlying desires that motivate their spending.
(E) people in the minority have to wait for the next opportunity to vote.

3. According to the passage, one result of the current political process for determining government spending is that

(A) the government has more funds than it needs to operate efficiently.
(B) the government is unable to secure the public’s confidence.
(C) voters who are in the majority tend to be highly satisfied.
(D) voters rarely get exactly what they want.
(E) non-voters must conform to the majority vote.

4. The authors’ remark in lines 36-38 (“The ballot... conformity”) most likely serves which purpose?

(A) To suggest that conformity is more desirable than humanity.
(B) To caution that unanimity and conformity are incompatible aims.
(C) To point out that two activities have similar flaws.
(D) To emphasize a sharp contrast between two familiar activities.
(E) To persuade the reader to vote only in certain situations.

Suggested GMAT Reading Comprehension Questions

• Antonia Castañeda has Utilized Scholarship from Women's Studies GMAT Reading Comprehension
• By 1950, The Results of Attempts to Relate Brain GMAT Reading Comprehension
• In February 1848 the People of Paris Rose in Revolt GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Over the Last 150 Years, Large Stretches of Salmon Habitat GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The Brain Contributes to the Adaptive Success of Animals GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The Geology of the Grand Canyon Area Exposes One GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The Pioneers of the Teaching of Science Imagined GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The Single-Celled Parasite known as Toxoplasma Gondii GMAT Reading Comprehension
• During the Victorian Period, Women Writers GMAT Reading Comprehension
• In Current Historiography, the Picture of a Consistent GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Resin is a Plant Secretion that Hardens when Exposed to Air GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Some Historians Contend that Conditions in the United States GMAT Reading Comprehension
• It Was Once Assumed that All Living Things GMAT Reading Comprehension
• A Fundamental Principle of Pharmacology is that all Drugs GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Scepticism is as Much the Result of Knowledge GMAT Reading Comprehension
• On the surface, the Conquest of the Aztec Empire GMAT Reading Comprehension
• A One-Child Policy was Implemented in China GMAT Reading Comprehension
• But Man is Not Destined to Vanish GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Coral Reefs Are One of the Most Fragile GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Although Numbers of Animals in a Given Region GMAT Reading Comprehension