Both oil producers and miners recall painful lessons of previous decades when low prices were the norm.

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Such low rates should stay the norm for a while.

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That compares with the system-wide norm in the 60s and low 70s.

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Rates of smoking are relatively low, mid-day naps are the norm, the pace of life is slow and people socialise frequently with friends and family, drinking moderate amounts of wine.

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The media, consumer advocates and regulators have had it in for prepaid, believing that the exceptions of Kardashian cards are the norm and that prepaid is basically a sham for low-income users.

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Similar processes can be seen elsewhere in Latin America, where fertility rates have been dropping to levels closer to American and northern European norm, but not yet those of the ultra-low Japan or southern European countries.

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Pay freezes, pay reductions and other corporate cost-cutting measures that began with the crash have now become the new norm, keeping many young employees in a holding pattern of low earning that I predicted would have serious implications for their long term earning potential.

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They are imposing a 1% pay norm essentially across the board, making no account if you are low paid, middle paid or higher paid.

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My mother ended up working full time at low paying jobs, with welfare, food stamps and other government assistance being our norm for most of the rest of my childhood.

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