Which One of the Following Tends to Be the Primary

Which one of the following tends to be the primary attitude of firms' towards their dividend policy?

A) Dividends should be increased annually no matter what.
B) Dividends should be flexible and adjusted annually in response to changes in the firm's earnings.
C) The costs associated with cutting dividends are perceived to be less than the costs of obtaining external financing.
D) Once a dividend is increased, it should not be decreased.
E) Dividend smoothing is talked about but is not really a factor that affects dividend decisions.