u
for
What was not shown on
television was th amount of
money that was spent by tl¥: bill's
opponents, such as Hollywood
producers a.OO companies in the
cable irdistry woo fimnelcd more
than $12 million in oontnbutions to
members of Congress dwing the
past 18 montts. .
,
DIE CABlE industry, which
argued vociferously against the bill
to re-regulate its bisiress, was an
aggressive oontnbutor. Americans
woo have yet to subscnbe to term­
limitations sbould rote that es this
bill made its Wdy through tl¥: com­
mittees, the campaign donations
from cable owrers to O>ngress
members more than doubled over
the last election cycle.
Washington watclers will �
you that as the members of the
Sena were corsidering the bill
and lining up votes for, or against it,
high ranking Senators were getting
money that talked louder than the
. I
.'
Senators Daniel Inouye of
Hawaii, John Breaux of Louisiana
and Robert Packwood of Oregon,
woo all have jurisdiction over cable
legislation and sit on the Com­
merce O>mmittee which initiated
the bill, got bocks thatsoould make
Americans wonder, '[ist who is
working for woo bere?"
Inouye got S19,00J in cam­
paign contribunors from political
action committees (p ACS) as­
sociated with oompanies m1 trade
group; involved in lobbying the
cable bill. Breaux got SS5,<XD,
rrostly from people opposed to the
bill.
This mix of big IOOB:Y, big
media and big-titre politics, almost
leaves the '1ittle people" to1allyout
of the mix, exeeptwben it is time to
pay the piper. .
SUPPORTERS OF the bill,
soch as the Col1S1.1Irer Federation
of America, tried to flame the mat­
ter as a oonswner issue sirce it
addresses complaints about· the
skyrocketing cable rates and poor
service by placing cable operators
under a te« system of tate regula- .
tion, and it adds te« customer ser­
vice requirements.
But money that flowed from the
industry group; illustIa1ed how the
bill really became a squabble
among the giants of� media busi­
ress, over who was going to be. the
ul timate benefactor of bucks from
the cable conswner.
Broadcasters, including � Big .
Three retworks, pushed the bill
mainly because it will give local
1V stations the right to demart1
payment from cable operators
whenever the operator ... airs the
broadcasters programming - a
po nti..J windfall for the broadcast
industty.
TIlE CABLE industry op­
poses this scheme, es do the major
Hollywood sndios, which argue
that as the creator of the broad­
miters - sbould receive royalties.
Tre National Cable '(eleWion
Association (NCTA) gave
$474,150 to congressional iInlm­
bents and camidaes, Am five big
cable companies, that ire majority
of cable users pay morey to, su:h
es Tune Warner Inc., Tele-Com­
municatiors Ire, Turrer Broad­
casting, Comcast, and Viacom
International, spent $905,610
toward the maximwn contnbu­
nors that "the best Congress that
money can buy" could receive.
S SERVANTS,B7
BUSINESS 'FINANCE
Gr n
A gran i like hoI rship;
you don't h ve to p y it b ck. Pell
Grants are federally unded nd pro­
vide basic found tion for financial
aid p ckage. Undergraduate who
ttend chool t le t h If time can
receive up to $2,200 a ye r of Pell
Grant funds.
Supplemental Educ tional Op­
portunity Grants re provided by the
college. These grants don't have to
be paid back, but your child must
attend school at least half time.
Under the e grants, tudent can
receive up to $4,000 per year.
on y from Hom
Many parents have been using
home equity loans to finance their
children' college education. It i
fa t becoming the loan of choice
among educational 10 n. The
amount that you -can borrow varies
with each financial institutton.
Homeowners can generally tap
at least 80 percent of their home'
value. The advantage of a home
equity loan is that tne interest you
p Y i enerally deductible on your
return.
Before you emb r on a money
hunt for college financin be ure
to contact your child's hi h hool
co lin office to et pplication
de dUne nd other infomratlon.
AI 0 the U.S. Dep rtmento Educa­
tion offers free brochure th t out­
line th v rio type 0 financi 1
id programs.
Wor In Your y
One of the m ny optlo
pre cnted to college tuden p rt
of financial p c e or ttendln
college is the opportunity to or
their w y through chool. 'The Col­
lege Wor Study program provid
job for undergraduate and graduate
tuden who need financial aid.
Under the plan, you're p id at le t
the current Federal minimum ge.
The exact amount will be deter­
mined by the type of ork you do
and the kil required.
.
Your total College Wor Study
award depends on your total need.
You mayor may not wor on cam­
pus and your employer will qally
be a private or public non-profit
organization, or a local State, or
Federal agency. You are li�ited in
the number of hours you can work,
depending on your cl
nd your grade .
Charlu Ro is tM ha of tM
nationally yndicated radio pro­
gram, "Your Per. onal Finance,"
and tM author 0/ The B t 0/ Your
Pers01l41 Financ«;
ADV RTI
H RE
CALL EARL NE
869 0033
Everyone dreams of beating
Wall Street in three easy lessons.
But the investment schemes behind
such lessons are usually a ticket to - Be patient. Have the courage
the poorhouse. to keep your mutual funds for the
What you need is a common- long term. Don't let impulse inve t­
sense strategy that works no matter ing or udden market changes shake
what the economy throws your way. you out of your long-term plan.
That means you need to know what Time fs always on your side. S\1c­
has worked in the past, says finan- cessful investors put a fixed sum of
cial expert Jane Bryant Quinn in money into mutual funds, maybe
. "Making the Most of Your Money: once a month. They don't worry
Smart Ways to Create Wealth and about "bad" markets, because
Plan Your Finances in the 9OJ", buying stocks at bargain prices
... _Me" in .I.-.�-�arns them money when the market
Reader's Digest. turns.
History teaches these lessons:
- Buy stocks. For building
capital long-term, stocks win over
other investment. Over 10-year
periods, stocks have almost always
out-performed bonds and have left
simple bank accounts in the dust.
And over long periods, stocks have
out-performed inflation by roughly
7 percent annually, a far better
average than other investments.
Buy stock-owning mutual funds,
not stocks themselves. Good mutual
funds give you full-time, profes­
sional money management, which
you cannot provide yourself. Pick­
ing stocks individually i for the
dedicated hobbyist who can afford
it.
- Seeking diversity. Although
stocks win the race in the long term,
in the stort term we need a portfolio
of different investments that give us
some protection when the economy
falls apart. Use stocks for long-term
growth; money-market mutual
funds for ready savings; bonds and
dividend-paying tocks for steady
compounding of interest; and your
home as an inflation hedge.
Plain-vanilla mutual funds will
do. All the other stuff _;_ options on
futures, commodities, limited
partnerships - most often leave
you poorer ..
Keep money you need within
four years in safe investments such
as certificates of deposit, Treasury
Home
Owner hlp
Opporutnltles
TROY, MI r+ Standard
Federal Bank will hold a free
Community Home Buyer's
Program Seminar on Saturday,
Nobember 7, from 1pm. until
3pm. at the Hartord Memorial
Baptist Church, 18700 James
Couzens ..
This seminar is especially
helpful to renters who would
like to become buyers.
Refreshments will be served.
To register, or for
informa tion about the
program, call1-800-643-9600,
exl6CJ77.
bills and short-term notes, or
money-market mutual funds.
- Reinvest dividend An in­
vestor who put $100 into the Stand­
ard & Poor' 500-stock average on
the last day of 1925, held until
December 31, 1991- and spent all
the dividends - would have earned
$3,270. If that investor had rein­
vested the dividends, he or she
would have had $67,559!
. - Keep It simple. The more
elementary your investment tyle,
the more confident you can be of
making money in the long run. No
one can escape risk altogether. You
need to ask whether your current
risks support or undermine your
purpose.
Here are three �lassic porttollos,
ranked by market risk:
-Low risk: 20 percent stocks,
30 percent medium-term bonds and
50 percent cash equivalen ,such as
money-market mutual funds.
-Medium risk: SO percent
stocks, 30 percent five-year bonds,
10 percent long-term bonds and 10
percent cash equivalents.
- Hlgb risk: lOP percent
stocks. Tip toward lower risk if
your earnings are low, you carry
huge debts, you're In- poor health,
you don't know much about invest­
ing, you're naturally cautious or
you'll need that money within three
or four years. TIp toward higher
risks if you earn lot, have a high
net worth, are an experienced in­
vestor, are young or won't need the
monoy for many years.
No one can forecast the future
with certainty. Long-term, the
world has always gotten richer and
stocks have alway. trended up. On
a percentage basi , history ays that
you might as elt.i�v�t for suc­
ceu ..... ,,,,..,,, ftl'
• r \ ..
A BIG BANK SHOULDN"T
DEAL ONLY IN
LARGE DENOMINATIONS.
At Fir t of America, we're also interested if) the
kinds of denominations that
enrich lives. Because we believe
churches play a key role in making
our communities healthier, more
. table places to live. That's why
we worked with the Greater
kwrtnd CcJlian Hill, Concord Missionary Baptist
G�rConcord
MwW>no�1' Baptist Churd! Church to assist local pastors in
tting up nonprofit housing corporations. To dare,
we've helped 21 Detroit churches do just that.
You see, we're concerned about making the
Detroit area an even better place to live. So we
carefully reinvest the fimds you deposit with us
back into the community.
� way, everyone benefits. Regardless of
their denomination .
"First of America Bank-Southeast MicJuyan has
made a tmnendow difference in the Detroit community,
particularly in worIang with our churches. Very Simply
stated, no other financial institution has done more for
Detroit churcJres than First of Americo."
- Atvtrrrw/ Cui/ion HIli
o I II{\I Al\lI {ICA
,It mber 1-D/ ,
----01 ONEOFntE MIDWEST'S BIGGfSTBANKS. BtrTONlY WHEN YOU WANTUSro BE.
I quol Hooflfl9 I cnckr. Gl .