Question

in the united states, social security payments are made based on things like age, widow status, certain disabilities, and how much someone paid in to the system. using only this information, social security payments seem to rely primarily on which allocation strategy?

• arbitrary characteristic

• price

• first - come, first - served

• majority rule

Explanation:

To determine the allocation strategy for Social Security payments, we analyze each option:

• Arbitrary characteristic: Social Security uses characteristics like age, widow status, disabilities, and contributions (which are not arbitrary but specific criteria). Wait, no—wait, the options: Wait, "arbitrary characteristic" here refers to using specific traits (age, status, contributions) as allocation bases. Wait, no, let's re-express:
• Price: Social Security isn’t allocated by price (like buying a service).
• First - come, first - served: Payments aren’t based on who applies first.
• Majority rule: Payments aren’t decided by majority vote.

Social Security uses arbitrary characteristics (specific traits like age, widow status, contributions) to allocate benefits.

Answer:

arbitrary characteristic