Passage Summary: Analysts think boomers saving for retirement will pump up the stock market, but a columnist argues that if boomers stop spending, companies won't make money, making their stocks a bad investment.

Conclusion: The analysts' prediction that stock prices will continue to rise is overly optimistic and likely incorrect.

Reasoning: If baby boomers stop consuming and start saving, corporate earnings will drop, which means high stock prices won't be supported and investors will look elsewhere.

Analysis: The columnist uses a clever 'turn-the-tables' strategy by accepting the analysts' premise—that boomers will switch from consuming to saving—and showing it leads to a different result. By identifying a secondary effect of that shift (lower corporate earnings), the columnist undermines the analysts' optimistic conclusion. You should identify this as a method where the author draws a different conclusion from the same set of initial facts. It's a professional way of saying, 'You forgot to consider the downside of your own data.'