Final answer:
Jonathan Swift's satirical excerpt from 'A Modest Proposal' suggests that landlords have caused 'Financial difficulties' for their tenants by economically exploiting them, thus the correct answer is a) Financial difficulties.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the excerpt from Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal, Swift employs satire to highlight the dire condition of the poor in Ireland who are suffering under their landlords. The phrase, "and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children," suggests a cannibalistic metaphor wherein landlords consume the livelihoods of the poor. Therefore, Swift is stating that the landlords have caused their tenants Financial difficulties.
Swift's satirical work is designed to provoke thought and challenge social injustices of his time, particularly the crushing economic exploitation faced by the Irish tenants at the hands of their landlords. The proposal, therefore, is a veiled critique of this exploitation and the social structures that allow it to persist.
Based on the context provided, it is clear that Swift is arguing that the landlords' economic oppression has resulted in the tenants' suffering, aligning with the option a) Financial difficulties.