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October 8, 2026 

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SOCIAL SECURITY: A system for providing financial assistance to the poor, elderly, and disabled. The social security system in the United States was established by the Social Security Act (1935) in response to the devastating problems of the Great Depression. Our current Social Security system has several parts. The first part, Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) is the one the usually comes to mind when the phrase "Social Security" comes up. It provides benefits to anyone who has reached a certain age and who has paid taxes into the program while employed. It also provides benefits to qualified recipients survivors or dependents. The second part of the system is Disability Insurance (DI), which provides benefits to workers and their dependents in the case of physical disabilities that keeps them from working. The third part is Hospital Insurance (HI), more commonly termed medicare. Medicare provides two types of benefits, hospital coverage for anyone in the OASI part of the system and optional supplemental medical benefits that require a monthly insurance premium. The last part of the social security system is Public Assistance (PA), which is the official term for welfare and is covered under it's own heading.

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PURCHASING POWER: In general the quantities of goods and services that can be bought with a given amount of money. The notable feature of purchasing power is that it declines as prices rise. In particular, inflation is the number one nemesis of purchasing power. When inflation gives higher prices, purchasing power falls. Be careful, though, that you don't get too caught up in the purchasing power of just a single dollar. The real question is not how much stuff one dollar can buy, but how many dollars you have. In other words, while the price of a brand new car might have been $10 when you were a kid (in the good old days), the average annual income was also $20. That's the same purchasing power as a $10,000 car price and a $20,000 income.

     See also | real | nominal | money | price level | inflation | cost of living | living standard | store of value |


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AVERAGE FACTOR COST

Total factor cost per unit of factor input employed by a firm in the production of output, found by dividing total factor cost by the quantity of factor input. Average factor cost, abbreviated AFC, is generally equal to the factor price. However, using the longer term average factor cost makes it easier to see the connection to related terms, including total factor cost and marginal factor cost.

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ORANGE REBELOON
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Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time calling an endless list of 800 numbers looking to buy either a bottle of blackcherry flavored spring water or a travel case for you toothbrush. Be on the lookout for mail order catalogs with hidden messages.
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In the Middle Ages, pepper was used for bartering, and it was often more valuable and stable in value than gold.
"Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively, unless you can choose a challenge instead of a competence. "

-- Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady

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