CASTLEGAR NEWS, May 4, 1980 “Surviving du Inflation has joined death and taxes Gs the third inevitability in our lives. And now that inflation has been accepted as a certainty in our lives, the in- novative are now figuring out ways of making a profit in spite of it. HOW TO COPE — and indeed how to profit during inflationary times is the topic of a brace of new books on the market this year. This advice to the in- flation-ridden ranges from Howard J. Ruff's How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years (Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd., Toronto Hardcover $12.25) with his predictions of a complete breakdown of the American economic system to Morton Shulman's How to Invest Your Money and Profit from Inflation (Hurtig, Edmonton Hardcover $9.95) which guides the reader to live profitably with inflation to New Profits from the Mon- etary Crisis (Warner, New York Paperback $2.95) by Harry Browne updating his previous bestseller You Can Profit from a Monetary Cri- sis. k All three authors start with the premise that in- . Nation is unlikely to be con- trolled. As Browne says: “Since 1970, we've had high unemployment rates, chronic price inflation, volatile cur- rency prices, banking scan- dals, failures of ‘first-class’ ring in {Ny wits ie SAVE COINS... only if you're an expert paper currency down the drain and turn the world upside down. Paper fortunes based on lending will be de- stroyed and a new kind of in- vestment and financial plan- ning morality will put some very unlikely people on the top of the heap. And you can. join them there, if you know what you are doing when the heap turns over.” Browne, although less about the immedi- cor and a of other trials — trials that, as recently as 1970, those without, foresight swore could never happen.” “THE CRISES HAVE BEEN BLAMED on every- thing from greedy Arabs to bad weather to sunspots. But sooner or later, most people will recognize that the crises aren't haphazard, unlucky, isolated events, They aren't the result of bad luck; they're the result of bad govern- ment.” In the same vein, Ruff continues: “You don't have to be a fortune-teller to realize that if you take money from one person and give it to another, neither person has much incentive to earn more. And you don't have to be an economic scholar to know that issuing more paper money doesn’t add to the real wealth of the nation; it only debases the money already in existence, distorts the struc- ture of prices, and encour- ages investments that have no real economic purpose. “Printing money has al- ways been a government specialty. It’s the one thing they do well. In the economic division of labor, mankind has developed a familiar pat- tern; citizens produce goods and services, while govern- ments produce pieces of paper with ink on them. The’ person who believes that our government cannot continue to inflate the money supply does not know much. about history or politics.” PREDICTIONS VARY as to the inevitable result of inflation on the economy. Ruff, host of a nationally syndicated U.S. television program Ruffhouse, editor of The Ruff Times, and a rel- ative newcomer to the world of economic analysis, predicts that the United States is about to enter an inflationary spiral leading to a depression that “will be remembered with a shudder for gen- erations.” “No one knows exactly where the breaking point is, but it's coming and soon. As this book is published, Amer- ica is truly on the brink, and so is the rest of the world, because when we sneeze, the rest of the world gets pneu- monia. “SO WHAT IS IN YOUR FUTURE? A grisly list of unpleasant events — explod- ing inflation, price controls, erosion of your savings (eventually to nothing), a collapse of private as well as government pension pro- grams (including Social Sec- urity), vastly more govern- ment regulation to control . your life, and eventually an international monetary holo- caust which will sweep all acy of the threat of economic cliaos, says there are three possible scenarios: (1) a de- flationary crash and panic; or {2) a runaway inflation fol- lowed by a deflation; or (3).a fairly long-term i fi The return of the im- portance of the small town is the basis of another recom- mendation. Ruff believes that when the crash comes, big cities will go broke and taxes, crime, racial and social fric- tions will accelerate. The middle class will abandon cities and head for the small “town, His advice is to sell or trade all big city or suburban real estate and invest in small town income property and to move there now if possible. HIS FIFTH RECOM- MENDATION is to start hoarding in preparation for price controls and a black though the pattern will be familiar, there will be sur- prises along the way, he pre- dicts. His recommendations are to build a sound in- vestment strategy that will be hedged against the un- foreseeable. i “Government involve- ment in the economy will continue to grow. Each new crisis will be an excuse for a flatione . give safety,-they guarantee loss of true capital. In today’s economic climate, he says, there are, no “risk: free in- vestments.” ' WHAT NOT TO DO? Don't buy’ government bonds. Don't buy corporation bonds. "Don't buy’ life or savings plan insurance, Don't buy, mortgages. What. to do? Shulman claims there are two.secrets to financial success in in- fMlationary periods. One is to buy equity, things that will go'up in value as the dollar loses its buying power. The second is to use b ry times : modities, stating that they are one of the few places left ‘where you have a chance of making a fortune from a few: ~ thousand dollars, AS FOR THE STOCK MARKET, Shulman admits there are no simple answers. He recommends staying away from utilities and other " egulated companies because_ they are unable to raise- prices quickly enough to keep pace with inflation, from ser- vice companies because” of consumer resistance ty pay- ing runaway inflation‘ prices and from high profile man- f be- money. “Buying equity . helps keep up with inflation, but the only way to get ahead of inflation is through the use of borrowed money." And he points the read- er: “in only two fields of in- vestment is it simple and cheap for the ordinary person to borrow long term money: real estate and commodities,” Shulman also touches on some novel luxury invest- ments such as wine, art and antiques. ON WINE HE SAYS: +» wine investment is a luxury because time and patience are needed for pri- ces to rise and willpower is essential to keep from drink- ing the investment.” As for art and antiques: “For the investor who is prepared to wait for three to five years amazing are possible.” And not only through resale. Buy things your museum wants to own, he says, retain and enjoy your purchase for two or three years while inflation pushes up their price and then donate them to. the museum and take a tax new g prog) offset the consequences of previous programs.” “This process will affect us in two ways. There will be government cure-alls that only worsen economic con- ditions, And there will be in- directed at invest- of the present “stagflation,” followed by either one or two. According to his an- alysis, we are already well into the third option. Predict- ing several years of crises for the U.S. economy, Browne refuses to lay out a time schedule, saying the most important thing is to realize that anything can happen and to be prepared for all pos- sibilities. THE END IS NOT NEAR, according to Morton - Shulman, who refuses to speculate where we will be “in 1990.” Instead, he chooses to offer a sensible manual for the ordinary investor on ways to stay afloat during the next few years of inevit- able growing inflation. Predicting the end of the world as we know it and then offering a solution for the chosen few has been a lucra- tive pastime for centuries, and the eynic:that sits in the back of one's mind must ask whether economic evangel- ists have exaggerated the problem ever-so-slightly so that the purchase of the way to a solution becomes even more attractive. Cynical thoughts not- withstanding, the solutions offer interesting reading. Howard Ruff, with his doomsday predictions of shortages, crime and break- down of services, gives five recommendations for person- al survival before and during the period of chaos he says will follow the crash. RUFF'’S FIRST REC- OMMENDATION, and the most important, he says, is to store enough food for a year because the distribution sys- tems will fail for a time. SECONDLY, he recom- mends that you purchase $1,000 worth of silver coins that were minted during the times when they actually contained silver (from a coin dealer in bags of $1,000 at a cost of about $4,200, U.S. figures). Purchase also an equivalent of gold coins and store them ina safety deposit box. Since paper money will be worthless for a time, he says, the only tender that is liekly to be accepted is silver and gold. HIS THIRD RECOM- MENDATION is to use bor- rowed money only to pur- chase income producing in- vestments and to avoid un- necessary consumer debt — a recommendation we should all heed even if there is no crash, market ‘y Stockpile everything you commonly use, he says — personal needs, . clothing, tools, spare parts, ‘seeds, drugs, tires for your car and so on. Then, after you have panie-proofed your life by re- moving your dependence on society for your immediate needs, he is ready with some advice on strategies to follow to make money at present during double digit inflation times and in the future. ments in particular — changes in the tax rules and increased regulation of the markets." or: What to do? Develop a strategy that makes the most of long term trends, he says, such as the strong position of gold and Swiss francs. Be hedged against surprises and mistakes and have as little exposure to the U.S. govern- ment as possible so that losses from rule changes are minimized. OLD CARS... dori't buy at retail prices HIS FORMULA IS SIMPLE. When interest rates start to fall, buy bonds on. margin. When _ interest rates are rising, buy gold, silver and diamonds. ~ He also suggests buying Swiss francs as a hedge against inflation because the eurrency is strong. Rare coins are a good investment, THERE IS AN AGREE- MENT Browne concurs with both Ruff and Shulman in their assessment of govern- ment social security pension plans and the effect inflation is having on them. As he puts it: “The simplest and most realistic way of looking at these programs ‘is to expect nothing from them, to avoid ing to Ruff, orative medallions are not, diamonds are. Until the crash comes, Ruff recommends to his Am- erican compatriots that liquid money be invested in Money Market Funds or Treasury Bills because they are rel- atively secure. BROWNE REFUSES TO PREDICT A TIME for the demise of the economic system. And he is wise in doing so, for what is more embarrassing to a prophet than to predict the hour of the crash only te have the economy limp on its merry way month after month, year after year. He says that the era of chaos that began in 1970 is likely to remain for at least another decade. And al- to them when possible, and to pay no at- tention to government guar- antees of any kind.” Shulman is at his suc- cinct best in his latest book — and this is the book Can- adians will find the most edifying to read. He starts with the pre- mise that inflation cannot be stopped and all people can do is protect their own finances so as to preserve the stand- ard of living of their families, He says that the hardest possible thing for an investor today to accept is that there is no longer any investment. that will guarantee safety of capital. The traditional ways in which such safety was sought, through investment in bonds, life He also. delves into dril- ling funds in-a chapter “for millionaires only.” For small investors who want to.see how the very rich can invest, he explains that most drilling funds want a. minimum in- vestment of $50,000 - or $100,000. Should the drilling fund go broke, 100 per cent of the investment may be writ- ten off-against income. If’ it~ succeeds, investors share in the proceeds of the successful oil well. E OTHER WAYS. TO PROFIT DURING IN- FLATION? Money can be made in stamp collections, but only if you specialize, but only old ‘stamps, ‘perfect, copies, preferably mint cop- . fes, avoid stamps of defunct countries and buy at auction houses instead of dealers. ON COINS, don't unless you are an expert. On mem- orabilia, don’t. Forget limited edition plates and medallions, photographs, autographs, dolls, books and rugs, And in a last word of advice, he writes about pen- sion plans: “In normal times, a Keogh pension plan or an RRSP would make sense, but in bad inflation most pension plans are no good for the same reason bonds are no * good, They will pay off in worthless paper money. The only pension plans that make sense are those that are self-managed and in which equity is placed in the form of gold, land or other real things.” He continues: "I cannot stress it strongly enough -+. Ifyou do not already own your own home, buy it now." However, he advises, don't buy equity such as old cars, prints or diamonds or anything else at retail. When you go to realize your “prof- it” you, will have to sell at wholesale prices, he says. IS USELESS as an inflation hedge ‘unless you are buying at a real (wholesale) value. He recommends gold highly, saying at the time of this writing there would be a new surge in gold and new record prices in the spring of 1980. On the lasting trend to high gold prices, he observes: “Inflations all end the same way with a cataclysmic flood of worthless paper money which finally no one will accept.'A new currency must then be created and in order to restore confidence, it must be backed with something tangible, and you'can be sure that. something won't be sheepskins.” : DON'T BUY RENTAL INCOME, he advises. It is too subject to government rent control and tax gouging. or mortgages not only fail to Do buy He is high on com- proiits , cause government will likely try being persuasive about keeping prices down. Good stocks to buy are generally those of any company that has wealth in the ground and is not subject to government control. B - He says to sell your pre- ferred stocks and don’t buy listed options because you won't make. any money. As for Ginnie Maes (Govern- ‘ment National Mortgage As- sociation certificates), play- ing the market with them can be extremely profitable, but not for the novice. And don't buy convertible bonds except in special circumstances such as when the bond is issued by a company such as a solid oil , company, gold mine or uran- ium company as it may be profitable to convert into common stocks at some fu-. -ture date. Roa: MILK RUN, which ended at city hall, was viewed by Peter.S. Perehudoff of Castlegar who took the oppor- tunity to ask Mayor Audrey Moore to be in a picture with him. The mayor graciously agreed and a happy Perehudoft struck a pose. ‘ —News/Mirror Foto by Lois Hughes EATON'S: time ¥ for mom SUNDAY, MAY Titi formud 2 Science made sensuous by Revlon Formula 2 is quite simply the application of pure science for simply sensational effects. Askincare and cosmetic line that makes looking your best beautifully simple. 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Come to the Revion counter at Eaton's and discover science made sensuous, Formula2...Revion's simplest skin care regimen, EATON'S Buyline 368-5232 For Better ‘or: For Worse ‘by Lynn Johnston Ht), DON'T TELL ME: MORE Ve By Jo Paquin Around the Kitchen : PREMIER CROSSWORD, Added spices 94 Condiment used 15 Dich of milk ‘Wire measures 1 Removes apple 119.Girl's nickname se He i] REED ERIE ena sin H [ : iE Hi ; aaa HAT aie Hey * BS SSke ShSs BeEsenrnes z 3 alte B H Dear Ann Landers: | am a single parent with two sons to raise, ages seven and eleven. When my separated | worked two full-time Jobs, saw very little of my children and | was always exhausted. | decided to go back to college and equip myself fora position with a future. During this period we have had no choice but to go on food stamps. When | check out my often hear making day, a middle-aged man muttered, ‘'| wonder how some people get so lucky that they are able to get food with stamps? | have to fork over money for mine.'' Last week ayoung fellow behind mein line yelled to the cashier, ‘‘! have only cash. Is It still good?'’ Everyone laughed. ' realize some people abuse welfare, but many of us would just about starve to death If we, didn’t have government help. ! am a proud person and such are humiliating. How should a woman in my # I é | Hi ag H Hh SEE COMPLETED CROSSWORD ON PAGE AT is ir ae o a position respond? — Honorable But Hard Up In Massachusetts Dear Honorable? Silence often speaks fouder. than words. In your case | recommend It. Clods who would ridicule a person on welfare are not interested in learning — mill. the facts. They would rather shoot thelr mouths off. , Ignore them. —- Dear Ann Landers: Gas this week, in Albany, N.Y., Is selling for $1.16 a gallon. My car is a year old and gets about 16 miles to the gallon. We are still making payments on It and will be for some time to come. Next year we wili have a daughter in college, and you know what that costs. cayProquir WIFGHSJHMX RWCZ RCHGHMKG THKQVPXIFK “ gwKHQTLGULRE LI HKRHUXCQU KQVPXG 2 ‘Today's Crypioqaip cia: T equals D (© vm ning Penman Dreacape nc. ~ Note to libraries: This is the first issue of : the Sunday edition of the : Castlegar News. Its number- . ing sequence will coineide : with the numbering sequence of the mid-week Castlegar News and will be differen- tiated with the letter “A.” Thus, this is Vol. 33, No. 19A. . My and | must have two cars because he * has to drive to his job and | have to get groceries, go to the dentist, the cleaners, and so on. Yesterday my mother telephoned and asked me to ° drive her someplace. ‘said, ‘OK, but how about giving me $1 to help pay for gas?’' She got pretty huffy and yelled, ‘‘Forget it."’ | tried to explain that we are on a very tight budget, but she called me selfish and hung up. My mother is not starving to death. Why should anybody expect free transportation these days. Please — Gas-Pump.Poor Dear G.P.P.: For Lord’s sake, girl, does your mother have to be starving to dehth before you give her-a free ride in your car? You sound like a brass-plated, the four-door, penny-ante flea brain. Get on your knees and beg for-a second chance, kiddo. If you get It, you're reply in the paper. lucky. THE SPOR “ BETTER TAKE ALONG SOME EXTRA BALLS, DEAR” School District No. 9 _ (Castlegar) GRADE ONE and KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION For the 1980-1981 School Year Parents of children who should enroll in either Kindergar- ten or Grade One in September are asked to register their child at the nearest elementary school at the time and date indicated, If the child is presently attending Kindergarten there is no necessity to register him/her in Grade One. 8:30 a.m, - 11:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 pm. 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon 8:30 a.m, - 11:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m, - 12:00 noon 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. 8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. December 31, 1980. Thank you for your co-operation. MONDAY, MAY 12 Kindergarten om Kinnaird Elementary and Valley Vista register at Valley Vista Robson Elementary Castlegar Primary Blueberry Creek Elementary TUESDAY, MAY 13 Castlegar Prima Woodland Park Elementary WEDNESDAY, MAY 14 Pass Creek Elementary Tarrys Elementary (Shoreacres at Tarrys: - Ootischenia Elementary Please note that a Birth or Baptismal Certificate must be shown before a child can be registered. Kindergarten pupils must be five yeors old on or before December 31, ‘1980. Grade One pupils must be six years old on or before | Board of Schoo! Trustees, ‘School District No. 9 (Castlegar) _ J. DASCHER, E Secretary-Treasurer a husband and | purchases at the market, | i remarks. Yester- Society still shuns them CASTLEGAR NEWS, May 4, 1980 ~ Claims victim of leprosy It was $2 years ago that the burly Samoan found out he had leprosy, and for the first time since infancy, he broke down in sobs, Ray (not his real name) was 23 at the time, holding down ‘a well-paying job at a . steel mill and looking for- ward to a good life with his bride‘ of two weeks, But the visit to the doctor to check swelling in his hands turned his world upside-down, : “I will never forget that day,” says Ray. “The doctor put arm around my shoulder and said, ‘Son, you've got leprosy.’ For the first time in my life, I was erying like a baby. His office was on the third floor, and my first thought was to jump out the window. “The doctor said I had leprosy, and right away I was like a fugitive. He got an emergency phone call, and I just took off as fast as I could.” ‘Ray spent hours running through Golden Gate Park and lifting weights to “see if I was a dead man, but I felt fine. I wasn’t even tired.” He had noticed the ab- normal swelling in his hands two years before, but doctors — who found nothing wrong with his blood, urine or heart — told him it was probably a reaction to the intense heat in the open hearths at the “The long delay in di- agnosing leprosy, or Han- sen's disease, is not uncom- jon, “Most patients are re- ferred to us two to -three years after experiencing the first symptom, usually a rash and feeling of numbness where the nerves are dying,” said Dr. Robert Gelber, héad of the Hansen's disease ser- vice at the U.S. public health hospital. “Leprosy is not an Am- erican disease, and most doc- tors don't know how to di- agnose it.” Most of the world’s 15 million lepers live in poor countries, and the majority of U.S. cases involve for- eign-born patients, predom- pine or Samoan origin, Gel- inantly of Mexican, Philip-* ber'said. Ray is one of 850 lepers — most of them living and working in the San Francisco Bay area — treated as out- patients at the San Francisco hospital, a pioneer in’ treat- ment of Hansen's disease. Although modern drugs render patients non-infec- tious almost immediately, leprosy still carries such stigma that most of its vic- tims hide their, ailment from employers and even spouses, Gelber said. . “I remember when they firat took me to the county hospital,” Ray recalled. “They took my clothes off, gave me a white gown and gloves, put me in a big glass room and closed the door. They handed me my food under the door. “Even now, there's so much fear and anxiety about Hansen's disease that for the sake of my five children and 10 grandchildren I don't want to be identified.” From California, Ray was sent to treatment centre for lepers at Carville ‘in Louisiana, where he spent three years. "I used to climb down the window and jump over the fence to be with my wife every night. We had a kid every year’ while I was there,” Ray recalled with’a grin: : He grew tired of the sweltering Louisiana sum- mers and longed to return to California. $ “But at that time the law said that each state I passed through had to give me per- mission to travel there. And Texas, Arizona and New Mexico refused.” With the help of a Catholic priest, however, he was allowed into New York City, where in two years he held 24 jobs. “I had learned my trade as a printer at Carville, but the minute an employer would find that out, he'd say, ‘Hey, aren't there a bunch of lepers there,’ and fire me on the spot. I worked two jobs at-once ‘because - 1 - knew sooner or later I'd get fired.” When he returned to the San francisco area, Ray got a construction job “so that I DATSUN 4X4 TRUCKS GO ANYWHERE! (Yes, just about anywhere) Get 4 wheel drive get-up-and-go in our low-priced Sportruck or roomy King Cab. Both come loaded for tough 4X4 performance on or road, Both have that Dat: i is off-road. efficiency that have made Datsun the No. 1 selling Import truck, The choice Is yours. Get-up-and-go in a Datsun 4X4 today. al » What on earth are you waiting for? -MOYNES 1205 Bay Ave., Trail ler Lic. #5185 Phone 364-2555 oo * wouldn't be working indoors at close range to other people.” “I worked harder than ever in my life because I wanted to become so indis- pensable that even when the boss found out what I had, he'd keep me on,” he said, “And that’s just what hap- pened. He even made me foreman.” Ray was forced to retire three years ago because of failing eyesight, the result of Hansen's disease. The dis- ease has also taken its toll on his hands, scarred from burns suffered on the job. “That's what the bug does to you, it kills - the nerves in your hands and feet and sometimes parts of your face, and you can't feel hot or cold,” said Ray. ‘NEW IN TOWN? 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