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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1997-02-12, Page 5Arthur Black THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12,1997 PAGE 5. The Thoughts from a bona fide geezer The geezers are back. Truth to tell, the geezers never went away. I'm talking about Mick and Neil and Tina and Joni and Leonard and all those other old fossil rockers who made us jump and squeal a quarter of a century ago. They were the greatest thing we'd ever heard, back in the 70s. Today they are certified, card-carrying geezers. I should know. I'm a bona fide geezer myself. I remember as a skinny college kid with a wad of hair on my head, walking down Yonge Street in Toronto, and hearing an eerie, guitar-backed warble emanating from the open door of Sam The Record Man. Was that...singing? Sounded like a hillbilly, but not quite like any hillbilly I'd ever heard. I hung a sharp left and went inside. "Who's that singer you're playing?" I asked the clerk. "Some kid from Minnesota" the clerk told me. "Name's Dylan." That's got to be 30 years ago - and if you RRSPs — the foreign kind The months of January and February of each year can safely be said to be RRSP season. The print media and the television screen are laden with ads which promote a certain company's mutual funds. The suggestion goes, that if we are wise, we will rush right out and buy some so we can prepare for our retirement and, in so doing, get one of the few tax breaks available to us. I have no argument with this. I have been telling my students for a number of years that they are going to have to look after their own retirement security since governments are noticeably inept at doing it. I also make them aware that the best thing is to start early since the longer they leave the money in a fund without touching it, the more the magic of compound interest increases. However, there is more than one caveat emptor or buyer beware consideration to which one must pay attention. You will have noticed that some of the RRSP promotions suggest you might like to diversify your investments by getting into foreign stocks. The argument goes that, at times when the Canadian stock market is not performing the way it should (something called a bear market), the possession of some foreign stocks will help balance out that since such stocks may well be experiencing a delightful run of their own (a bull market). Let's take Venezuela, for example. In just a year that country’s stock market has grown happen to catch Dylan on tour these days, or in one of his infrequent TV appearances these days, you'll see all 30 years have left their boot prints on his face. But why pick on the kid from Hibbing? Rod Stewart is 51. Joni Mitchell is 53. Neil Diamond is 55. Mick Jaffer is older than the President of the United States. Nothing wrong with that of course. Age is inevitable - and infinitely preferable to the alternative. What I can’t understand is why these geezers are still pulling in crowds. And they are. Last year, middle-aged rocker Bob Seger raked in $26 million U.S. Rod Stewart made $29 million and Neil Diamond - Neil Diamond, who put us all to sleep 30 years ago crooning narcotic anthems like Cracklin' Rosie and Cherry, Cherry; Neil Diamond, who is just five years away from collecting his Old Age Pension... Neil Diamond pulled in $32 million in 1996. It doesn't say a whole lot for today's singers and songwriters that audiences are prepared to shell out multi-millions for the privilege of listening to a bunch of geriatrics mumble and prance through songs that were hits a generation ago, but there you are. By Raymond Canon by no less than 225 per cent in terms of the local currency or, when translated into dollars, a hefty 130 per cent. Compare this with Canada's 25 per cent. Another example is Brazil which shows a 75 per cent increase in the local currency and a 60 per cent when converted into dollars. The star over the past year has been the Russian market which racked up a 210 per cent increase when expressed in the local currency, the rouble, but a whopping 175 per cent increase when converted into the dollar. Those are the type of figures you are likely to hear, but there is another side to it all. You will note that I have given you two sets of figures above. The first one sounds good, but the second one is the key since, if you invest in stocks in a foreign country, you have to convert your dollar investment into that country's currency. Ditto when you bring it out. However, what happens to the exchange rate during that time may bear little resemblance to the stock market. If the currency goes the opposite way to the stock market, it may wipe out any noticeable gains in your foreign portfolio. The worst is if a stock goes down at the same time as the exchange rate. An example is a Japanese Growth Fund which is worth only about half as much now as it was back in 1994. In the long term that may reverse itself, though so far it has been nothing but a dog. If your broker talks lovingly about foreign stocks, just keep very much in mind that they do not automatically compensate for any lacklustre performance of Canadian stocks. Chess players are considered to be antiques at 30. Hockey players are lucky if they play till they're 35. Most basketball players are on a downhill skid by the time they hit their late 20s. But rock and roll stars? Geezer Rockers never die, they just keep raking in the dough. The ones that are still around that is. Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead quit touring permanently in 1995. Brian Jones, the Rolling Stones original drummer, is out of the picture. And John Lennon. And Elvis, who would be 62 years old if he was still around. He's not, but there are dozens and dozens of original musical dinosaurs still going strong. What will happen to these fossils when they finally hang up their guitars and their leotards? Perhaps they'll move to Dallas, Texas. Dallas is a good town for Eternal Rock and Rollers. They could listen to radio station KTCY-FM - also known as "Fab 105". KTCY has a simple musical policy. It plays Beatles music. Just Beatles music. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I don't know about you, but I find that somehow depressing. I think I'll make myself a cup of cocoa and have a little nap. This may be due to the nature of the stock, the drop in the exchange rate or, as I have indicated above, a combination of the two. I would, therefore, recommend that you think very carefully about indulging in such stocks unless, of course, you are in for the long term and I do mean long, at least 10 years if not more. Another thing that bothers me is some of the come-ons. I use one in my classes which shows that, if you invested $10,000 in 1954, you would be worth several million dollars now. The figures are not incorrect, but tell me just who had that much money back in 1954 to invest. If I recall correctly, my income before taxes was about $4,000. Yet, when I asked my classes what was wrong with that ad, not one of them spotted the discrepancy. Foreign stocks are certainly to be considered when buying your RRSP. But do not make the mistake of considering such purchases to be a panacea for what can ail the Canadian market. The keys are to start early and know fully what you are getting into. A Final Thought The 1996 Canadian Edition of The Old Farmer's Almanac tells of cattle laws passed long ago in various Canadian towns. Fortunately most are forgotten. Close to home we have— 0 In Sebringville, Ontario, it's unlawful for a cattleman to wink at any female person with whom is he unacquainted. 0 It's illegal in Orangeville, Ontario, for a farmer to work around cattle while wearing socks with holes in the toes. By Bonnie Gropp y Volunteers give, not get Have you ever had that niggling feeling? For the last little while I have felt something's just not quite right. As a sculptor chips away at a block of marble to expose his artistry, my subconscious has been cutting at the back of mind trying to reveal a doubt tucked away. Then this weekend I broke through the final chink, exposing the problem. The revelation prompted me to pick up my dictionary so that I might prove my understanding of the concept had not been inaccurate all these years — voluntary: done or acting or able to act of one’s own free will, not constrained or compulsory, intentional; unpaid. In our small communities we benefit in no small measure by the efforts of volunteers. Our local service clubs have built recreational centres, donated sizable amounts of money to worthy causes and community betterment projects. Individuals give selflessly so that as many children as possible have opportunities to play their favourite sports. By donating what little spare time they have, volunteers keep our churches going, our schools community driven and our municipalities alive and vital. Two Brussels Citizens of the Year, a letter from whom appears in this issue, know about volunteering. They were honoured in part for their contributions to the BMG Catering Group, an organization of women, who since 1979 have given their time and energies to help fund the cost of running the arena. Many of their members are getting older, however, and for this integral volunteer group to continue they will need new energies joining their force. With thousands of dollars donated annually from this group, its dissolution is a concern. But while that bothered me it is not what twigged the niggling sensation at the back of my mind. What puzzles me is when did we put a price on volunteering and who is the recipient? While many volunteers donate energy and hours with no return other than the satisfaction of having given, there are those whose 'donated' time is monetarily compensated. Our volunteers on municipal boards are paid to attend meetings. Are those hours worth so much more than those given by other volunteers? I lay no blame with the individuals; many representatives were not even aware when they offered their services to the municipality that they would be paid. That being said, it's fair to assume that such enticement was not necessary, that they wanted to be involved because they had something to give. With so many cutbacks, maybe it's time municipalities stopped giving privilege to those who fall under their auspices. I'm sure the people who have offered their time would have done so without the perk. After all, it's not like they're getting rich from it; the compensation is essentially a token. But the cumulative effect on the municipality adds up. There are obvious challenges facing volunteer groups in this busy world. But I have met enough selfless people to believe in the complete definition of volunteer. When you really care, you give, not get.