LUX Best Financial Advice Ever Special TOpic MOneY iSSue UMass

LUX Best Financial Advice Ever! Special TOpic: MOneY iSSue UMass Boston stUdent Magazine VoLUMe 1 • FaLL 2006 $ SCHOLARSHIPS All You Need to Know Start Your Own Business PLUS Be $ Smart with Money Your Student Entrepreneurs taBle of Contents FINANCIAL 10 University by Anna Tsui by Mark Porter COVER MODEL Carey shoCKey major: political science MEET OUR Investment Club 11 Financial Advisor 17 The Top 10 by Maura Mast Carey aspires to be a modern-day beatnik-Kerouac did have roots in lowell, after all. traveling around the northeast, he has been seen drinking free beer in montreal and romancing in new york. then there are the shenanigans involving the band Darkbuster...but that’s another story. Born in the mountains outside of los angeles, Carey was not digging the typical college experience with dorms, meatheads, and horrid-smelling roomates. so, he transferred to umass Boston because of his desire to move to Boston, and our solid honors Program. Coming from a long-line of vagabonds, Carey likes to write while on the move. Don’t let the hair intimidate, meet the man behind the mohawk sometime. Reasons to Start Saving Now for Your Retirement 19 Scholarships by Tara Delmonico 34 How to Create More Money in Your Life by Benyamin Lichtenstein Cover Design & Photo A lphan Gunaydi n Major: Computer Science 36 Everything You by Teresa Jardin Need to Know About Financial Aid 39 Highest Paying Jobs in the U.S. While growing up in Istanbul, Turkey, Alphan gained a love for design from his father’s architectural drawings and his mother’s paintings. Specializing in website development and graphic design, he enjoys creating icons for friends and clients. He strives for simplicity and refinement in his work. Want to see for yourself? His online portfolio can be viewed at: http://www.iAlphan.com. When he is not creating amazing covers for LUX, you can find Alphan working at the office of Student Life as a Network Administrator and designing the sites for your favorite student clubs. “I enjoy working at Student Life, everyone is so accommodating,” he says. In the future, he is looking to revolutionize the field of web development.  • lux • the money issue • fall 006 EDITOR’S NOTE ome on, aDmit it- we are the hardest working students of any university, no contest. When was the last time your friend at Boston College came into school on a Saturday to meet with a study group? Why is it everyone you talk to is working two jobs? C Who else would commute for hours in the rain, and snow after a long night at work to make it to class? We do, and we do it everyday with Red Sox caps and Dunkin Donuts in hand. UMass Boston harbors students who are not just hard workers, but who are also motivated by a tremendous amount of personal will, integrity, and pride. Some of us are the first in our family to seek higher education, some of us are raising our own families, and some are finding the way to our dreams. LUX student magazine is a new student enterprise created by students to showcase the intellectual exchange, initiatives and amazing stories of everyone on campus. We are the new voice of the students at UMass Boston and our goal is to bring all of you to express yourselves in a common forum that is LUX. This fall we are offering a Special Topic MONEY ISSUE for all those students who are trying to figure out their finances, or who need to start figuring them out. We have quite the line-up of articles from student entrepreneurs to advice on credit, scholarship information and centers at UMass Boston that can help you start your own business! We’re all about community and learning from others, we encourage those of you who read this issue to start reaching out to other students and professors and get them involved in LUX. If you have ideas you’d like to present to the campus, let us know! If you have an interesting classmate or professor, interview them! If you feel that your ideas are underrepresented or you have something to share with the campus community, that’s what we are all about. We always appreciate hearing from you. SPECIAL THANKS TO: Honors Program Office of Student Life College of Liberal Arts SEOC Student Senate Mass Media Watermark Communications Program & everyone who helped along the way Read on and enjoy your LUX! anna tsui LUX@UMB.EDU editor in chief fall 006 •the money issue • lux •  taBle of Contents JaDe Goheen dEsign major: Classical languages a lover of all things candy, Jade makes umass a better place by working for umBe Green. a native of southern new Jersey, she pronounces “crayon” like “crown.” STUDENT ENTREPRENEURS 23 Nikilosh.com: Innovation in Advertisement by Nick Pierce K at e D a n C K e rt Copy Editor major: history a fan of analytical writing and an incurable bibliophile, Kate is considering a career in academia. aside from her exciting academic interests, Kate is also impassioned by the food network. 25 Clara Hendricks and the Zine Scene by Kate Danckert sarah CaCiCio Editor major: spanish literature as a spanish literature major, sarah recommends that you read la Voz Dormida, by Dulce Chacon. as a waitress, sarah believes you should tip 0%. 35 The Business of Poetry by Shea Mullaney Zulissa GonZaleZ Managing Editor BUSINESS major: Biochemistry a Biochem major, Zu enjoys the synthesis of chemicals and their applications in crazy ways we cannot even understand. as a theater minor, she gets a rush when the crowd lights up during a performance...life is good. 27 A Hidden Gem: by Carolina Gomez UMB’s Small Business Development Center y e l e n a B rya n t L ay o u t major: finance & economics When not rallying for the free-market, or doing layout for lux, yelena can be found competing with the Cross Country track team. 8The Venture Development Center by Gintautas Dumcius  • lux • the money issue • fall 006 taBle of Contents STUDENT WORK Chris o’Keeffe Editor 6 UMB’s Student Trustee by Alex Kulenovic major: Psychology & english Chris is moderately well informed, fairly well read, and manages to flawlessly fill in the gaps when cornered. 21 Delta Sigma Pi: by Dan Collins A Co-ed Professional Business Fraternity BrenDa traCChia produCtion major: sociology 28 Taxes by Andrew Clark 29 A Cost Benefit 32 The Price of after graduating Beverly high school in the top 10 percent of her class, Brenda is trying to find her niche at umass Boston and has a mission to serve others and help make the campus a welcoming environment for everyone. Analysis: Money, People, and Fighting Poverty by Charles Chear Wheat by Taylor Fife miChelle traCChia produCtion major: undeclared FACULTY WORK this is michelle’s first semester at umass Boston. she is a recipient of the Chancellor’s scholarship for academic excellence and is thoroughly enjoying her classes. she is leaning toward declaring a major in sociology. 13 Made in India by Arjun Jayadev sCott BaKer KenneDy Contributing Editor 15 Origins of Cash by Barbara A. Worley major: english an aspiring writer, scott has an interest in creative non-fiction, the novel, and drama. scott’s work lies in the realm of the arts, with a particular emphasis on film critique, narrative, and works involving queer sensibilities. fall 006 •the money issue • lux •  An Intro from trustee u student umB’s a l e x K u l e n o V i C mass Boston is a great school whose primary lors (appointed by the President and approved by the mission is to provide an affordable education Board) are fairly autonomous. there is one student to its hard-working student body. But many trustee elected by the students of each campus. the rest students who lack other sources of support have to take of the members are currently appointed by the Goverextraordinary measures to afford both their education nor and are drawn mainly from local business leaders and living expenses. meanwhile, our buildings have and prominent alumni. been deteriorating and are at the end of their useful life. in terms of student government, i now need to keep my interest in our campus’ larger issues stemmed from in touch with many student organizations at all umass my time campuses to mainspent as an tain and improve umass Boston is a great school whose primary communication undergraduate senator. mission it is to provide an affordable education and coordination. Whether i and as trustee, i had an accu- to its hard-working student body. But many stu- have quick access rate grasp of dents who lack other sources of support have to to information and the issues at people, skills to take extraordinary measures to afford both their navigate the univerthe time or not, i wanted education and living expenses. meanwhile, our sity bureaucracy, to find a and a list of useful buildings have been deteriorating and are at the contacts for future way to get in the thick initiatives. end of their useful life. of things- to i was surprised organize stuby how little actudents, to make connections with other umass campuses ally happens in the board meetings themselves. i supand other schools, and to advocate student interests at pose i naively expected the environment of the meetings several levels—on campus, university-wide, as well as to be a hotbed of competing interests where policies on Beacon hill. as student trustee, i thought, i would affecting the university are thoroughly debated. in this sense, i thought that i would need to vehemently be ideally placed to do all these things. the role of the student trustee is to serve as a stuchampion student interests with every breath. Gradudent representative (both graduate and undergraduate) ally, as i began to prepare for my new role, i came to to the umass Board of trustees. the Board governs realize that this is not the case. the distinct impression i the five campuses of the umass system, setting general got from every discussion is that of walking into the last academic and financial policies, overseeing the develop- five minutes of a conversation. it is obvious that there is ment of the university, and evaluating the performance thorough discussion, controversy, and the give-and-take of the administration. Despite its central policy-making of diplomacy, but that most of it takes place behind the role, the board is not directly involved in university adscenes. ministration or management—the university President at the same time, a look at the work of past stu(appointed by the Board) and the five campus Chanceldent trustees shows that an aggressive approach rarely 6 • lux • the money issue • fall 006 works. the Board shuts down and stops listening, though sitting around and going with the flow has an equally inadequate effect. there are only four meetings in a year, and since the first meeting is spent getting to know the rest of the Board and trying to figure out just what is going on, that leaves only three chances to bring something to the table that will hopefully improve the lives of umass Boston students. at the moment, the best approach is to research and talk to as many people as possible. then, when i’ve educated myself on the complexities of the issues and have some concrete proposals, i talk to the trustees individually. this is done behind the scenes, and i am able to see where we, as students, can bring in our perspectives and provoke a course of action. then, with solid ideas and real support, oratory might be useful. What can students do to get involved? Well, the first thing is to go to the student government offices on the third floor of the Campus Center and talk about your concerns. for anything on campus, whether it is an event you want to see or a problem you want to address, we have great student organizations that can work with you. i personally want to hear everything, from pet peeves to your thoughts on higher education in the u.s. Walk into my office anytime. it has no door. the other way you can help is with some of the research. the umass system is a corporation worth several billion dollars and a public institution with a long and colorful history with state government. learning everything i need to know to develop effective strategies will be a challenge, and i will be organizing a few different research initiatives as i work on various issues. for example, i am currently looking into the possibility of making more need-based financial aid available; fees have increased substantially in the past few years and students from our campus have the most debt after graduation. But making sense of what is currently being done and what can be improved is not easy. in particular, there are many questions even the most helpful administrators cannot answer because they lack any information about student motivations (why they might drop out of or take breaks from school, or don’t apply for financial aid) and have limited information about students’ financial situations. anything i can use to paint a more complete picture, whether scientific or anecdotal, may be helpful. finally, “more state funding” remains the solution to a lot of umass’ problems, if only it were that easy. Getting involved in a lobbying effort for more funding to public higher education is the best way to fight for umass. While our appropriation has increased this year, we are still far behind our 001 level and public higher education just doesn’t seem to be a priority in the current climate. a last-minute effort was organized last year, but this time around we will have to make it both bigger and smarter. student involvement is essential to the betterment of this university. i urge students to get involved with the student initiatives on campus. this helps build community and promote change. i wish you all a great year and hope to see you in the office at student life in the near future. fall 006 •the money issue • lux •  the Center Venture DeVeloPment G i n ta u ta s D u m C i u s eer through a slim, footlong gash in the makeshift wall covering the entrance to Wheatley hall’s ex-cafeteria and you’ll see what may seem like a familiar sight: a wide room gutted from top to bottom, a scene similar to the one three floors below in umass Boston’s deteriorating two-level garage. But sunlight steals through the abandoned balcony and plans are afoot across the Dorchester campus to turn the corner into a new high-tech zone for university faculty and students. Down the hall from the student-run Wits end Café, in a dining hall where students were once served curly fries and Pizza hut pizza, there will be a “smart wall” for mobile labs to hook into, basic audio-visual equipment, and a small operations staff for the intended site of the new Venture Development Center. “it’s going to be very state-of-the-art,” says William Brah, director of the center that is currently housed in the College of management. according to Brah, who for ten years ran umass Boston’s environmental Business and technology Center and has worked at the umass President’s office, the Venture deVelopment center is many things: a greenhouse, an incubator, a shepherd. essentially, a support mechanism to allow unproVen ideas from faculty and students to grow. P several potential examples, Brah notes, include a team of faculty and students from nearly any corner of the university who’ve come up with an idea they want to commercialize and license to a company, or a faculty member and graduate students who wants to expand a project with a grant and have a new research center. “We’re going to be initiating things with faculty given where their interests lie,” he said. they could include a new educational assessment, a new type of methodology, or even students who may have on their hands the next  • lux • the money issue • fall 006 Where at one point faculty were “pretty much on their own” with their projects, Brah says, the center aims to support projects for two to three years before they “graduate” to self-sufficiency, providing “seed money” and support by calling others who are working in similar or connected fields, looking at patents, and contacting companies which would be interested in licensing and marketing the project. it is in that short time frame that, without any help, businesses fail, he said. “When those [ideas] are invented, they’re theoretically proven on paper. next stop is to test it,” says Brah, who is part of a team that includes John Ciccarelli, assistant to the Chancellor for economic Development, and neil rodberg, brought over from environmental Business and technology Center and a former director of operations of a technology network at the massachusetts institute of technology. “the action is on the campuses,” Brah said. “that’s where the interesting jobs are.” Brah acknowledges many more ideas will be worked on than will actually be successful. “most of the ideas go nowhere,” he says. Brah plans to take on five to six projects a year, with two of them expected to do “really well, a couple will do okay,” and the rest will hit a “dead end,” he said. “that’s okay, as long as we learn something.” there to take risk out of the equation and increase a project ’ s chances of getting to a suitable market and working smoothly. Google, the search engine started by two stanford university students in their dorm and turned into a powerhouse both on the internet and Wall street. all projects are potentially valuable to the university, but many have some risk involved, Brah says. sitting in his small office in mcCormack hall’s fifth floor, Brah breaks it down into business-like terms: the center is But the success of the center will be measured through the success of the faculty and the success of the students, he said. While most of the big grant money, such as the funds for scientific research from the national science foundation, is in the hard sciences and technology, “they certainly don’t have a monopoly on it,” says Brah, who received a bachelor’s degree in Political science at regis College in Denver, and a master’s degree in Business administration and marine resource management at texas’s a & m university. in the next decade, umass could potentially be raising up to $100 million in research money, according to Brah. among the projects the Venture Development Center is looking at right now: wireless network sensors that can detect changes in the environment. the center has already gotten the project, headed by robert Chen, a professor at the university’s environmental, earth and ocean sciences Department, $00,000 in “seed money,” and is helping them work with companies interested in their technology, including Bluefin robotics, and use it to help people who grow crops, raise fish, or build bridges. the center got its own “seed money” when the state legislature approved $ million for the center as part of an economic stimulus package passed earlier this summer. the business and education community had worked with the legislature to find out what other states were doing to grow their individual economies, discovering that most economic development happened at public universities, where, unlike harvard university and mit, most students who graduated from public higher education stay in the state, Brah says. another $ million for the center was raised through federal grants. of the total $ million raised, $ million will be spent to renovate the Wheatley cafeteria and $ million will go to support science equipment needs, Brah says. an architectural firm specializing in educational facilities, Design Partnership of Cambridge, inc., will design the center. the firm at one time planned to locate it at the pump house in back of the campus. a feasibility study is currently being conducted to determine many of the hows and whys and whens of the center as a strategic planning and master planning process for the entire campus gets underway. for the center’s part, the design process is expected to take three to six months, and construction between six and nine months. a million will be spent over five years for staff and operations. fund-raising is unlikely to ever stop. “it’s going to be a pretty lean operation,” he says. for more information on the Venture Development Center, visit: www.umb.edu/vdc LUX IT UP!! Lighten up LuX by contributing to the neXt issue Anyone cAn submit AnD We WAnt you! shAre your iDeAs, reseArch, opinions, Writing skiLLs, Artistic Works or just your smiLing fAce! contAct us for more info: LuX@umb.eDu fall 006 •the money issue • lux •  U niversit y I nvestment C lub anna tsui reat money-making ideas don’t just happen on Wall street, sometimes they are inspired by simple things we learn in the classroom. last spring, three students taking econ 1 money & financial institutions had just that, a great idea. fritz hyppolite (Poli sci/econ ‘0, pictured at right), aram Pashaian, who has recently moved to las Vegas, and luiz rabelo (finance ’0) wanted to apply the concepts they had learned in class to the real world. they asked their professor, arjun Jayadev from the economics department, to sign onboard as their advisor and after some planning and consulting with umass’ Board of trustees, they decided to form the ambitious university investment Club, the first of its kind at umass. the goal of the uiC is to create an open forum for discussion about investing, and in doing so, to educate students about investments, finance, and monetary transactions. members will have opportunities to take trips to the new york stock exchange and be mentored by advisors who are experts in the field. the club will be an extension of the classroom and supplement the theories taught in class. “no matter the major or concentration, inVesting is critically important for eVeryone in our society,” says club co-founder hyppolite, who hopes to bring a piece of the financial world to students on campus. Branches of uiC are being established throughout the umass system, taking hold at umass amherst, lowell, and Dartmouth. the club is working with university officials to establish a network across campuses. in order to form a large partnership where members can freely exchange information. each campus will have their own club with their own programs and events, while coordinating and cooperating with others on certain projects, such as working up to a “live” portfolio that deals with real money as opposed to a paper portfolio that uses virtual money. Currently the members are trading through virtual portfolios online at marketWatch.com. for about six 10 • lux • the money issue • fall 006 G months, they used virtual funds to trade stocks and equities on three different portfolios for an average return of %, well exceeding the standard & Poor benchmark. the uiC seems to be riding a growing trend within the past decade where universities are embracing the value potential of student investors and are thus providing greater amounts of their endowments to student investment enterprises. for example, the Bentley investment Group based in Bentley College received $0,000 from trustees in 1 which grew % in two years. the little investment Bankers of rutgers (liBor), founded in 1, were given $00,000 which now amounts to a portfolio currently valued at approximately $1. million. in the future, after financial and technical strategies are in place, umass Boston uiC is optimistic that they will be able to drum up enough funds and backing to create a live portfolio that could possibly yield a tangible profit. if such profits are to be had, a large portion of them would be reinvested into student scholarships at umass and other forms of financial support. sources state that these talks have already begun. What’s the big deal about investing? many financial experts believe that you need to have good investments-be it in stocks, mutual funds, or real estate-in order to be financially independent. even if you have a well paying job, unless you are wise about where you invest your money, you will never be able to thoroughly enjoy your life because your income is dependent on how many hours you work or limited to the amount of your pension. “we created this club so we can apply what we learn in class and deVelop skills we can build upon and carry with us in life,” says rabelo. if you are interested in being a part of the fledgling enterprise or want to know more about the uiC, please contact fritz hyppolite at: fritz.hyppolite001@umb.edu. marK Porter: finanCial aDVisor One cold fall morning, our editor in chief, Anna, found herself sitting across the table from an Ameriprise Financial Advisor. While sipping J.P. Licks coffee, she received advice that proved invaluable as the foundation for a financially successful future. So, as any good LUX editor would do, she hunted down the now newly-wed financial advisor, Mark Porter and had him recreate that first meeting so you too can start planning your own finances successfully. s a financial advisor, i act as a coach for people’s money. my discussions center around goals: retirement, education, home purchase, debt reduction and much more. once i understand a client’s goal and their current financial situation, like a coach, i provide the correct “work-out” to get my clients to where they want to be. additionally, i hold my clients accountable to make sure they are putting in the reps and the correct weights in order to stay on track to reach their goals. Prior to discussing financial investments, you need to build a secure foundation so if your investments don’t pull through, you won’t put yourself in financial jeopardy. for most people who are starting out, there are many building blocks that need to be in place before “playing the market” is even an option. the first illustration by tory fahey block is a cash reserve. a it. however, an fDiC-insured, low-interest savings account isn’t your only option. there are several excellent alternatives, each with unique advantages that are offered through banks and other financial institutions, including money market accounts and short-term CDs that offer higher interest rates than savings accounts, with little (if any) increased risk. note that certain fixedterm investment vehicles (i.e., those that pledge to return your principal plus interest on a given date), such as CDs and treasury securities, impose a significant penalty for early withdrawals. so, if you use fixed-term investments as part of your cash reserve, you’ll want to be sure to ladder (stagger) their maturity dates over a short period of time (e.g., two to five months) to ensure the availability of funds, without penalty, to meet sudden financial needs. Cash reserve a sound financial plan should ensure that you are protected when financial emergencies arise, so the first step in the financial planning process should be to establish a cash reserve also known as an emergency fund. your cash reserve should be readily available when you need long-term savings you can search to get a good interest rate in your cash reserve, but it will never be enough for any long term savings. Global inflation averages about %, so if your savings account gets .%, you are actually losing money every year. take the taxes out of your interest, and you are down even more. take a look at the fall 006 •the money issue • lux • 11 What you should look for depends in part on how you’ll use the card. if you intend to pay off the balance each month and won’t incur any finance charges, obtaining a low interest rate is less important than finding a card with no annual fee, minimal transaction fees, and a long grace period. if you’ll carry a balance from month to month, you’ll want a low interest rate and a balance calculation method that minimizes your finance charges. if you’re turned down for a credit card, the issuer must inform you specifically why you were turned down or tell you how to get this information. When the rejection is based on your credit history, remember that you are entitled to a free copy of the report from While it is great to have cash on hand for emergencies, the credit bureau that issued it. Dispute any incorrect having a large cash reserve paying you % while you notation on the report and pay 0% on a credit card then contact the card issuer “for the Cost of a makes no sense. Credit to plead your case, informing cards are useful tools when G o o D C u P o f C o f f e e the issuer of any corrections used with discretion, but be e a C h D a y , y o u C o u l D made to your credit report. sure to read the fine print. With persistence, you may be like dandelions in a spring B e a m i l l i o n a i r e i n able to convince the issuer to lawn, credit card offers the future” approve your credit applicapop up everywhere-stufftion. ing your mailbox, flashing on the internet, even falling from the magazines in your i hope this has been informative, albeit a bit dry, but i doctor’s waiting room. and they all sound so attracpromise in the future we will cover some more advanced tive–”0% aPr until next year,” “no fee if you transfer topics. as an advisor i am always looking to grow my a balance now,” “low fixed rate.” how do you decide practice. if you have a financial issue you would like to which offer is best for you? in order to evaluate credit discuss (starting a new job, have money to save, just comcard offers, you’ll need to learn the language they use. ing into school from a job, etc), feel free contact me. pump: $0 doesn’t buy nearly as much gas as it used to. long-term savings must be done outside of a cash reserve. Why is saving important? if you were to save $ per day over the course of 0 years and achieve a 10% rate of return (which is what the market has averaged over the long run), you could retire with approximately one million dollars. so for the cost of a good cup of coffee each day, you could be a millionaire in the future. Credit Cards here are some of the more important terms: Annual percentage rate (APR): the cost of credit as indicated by a yearly (fixed or variable) interest rate. these rates must be disclosed to you before you become obligated on the card. Balance computation method: the formula used to determine the outstanding balance on which you’re charged interest for the billing period. Finance charge: the cost of credit for the billing cycle, expressed as a dollar amount and determined by multiplying the outstanding balance by the periodic rate. Fees: charges (other than the finance charge) that may be levied against your account. Common examples include an annual fee, cash advance fees, balance transfer fees, late payment fees, and over-the-limit fees. Grace period: the length of time prior to your payment due date during which you may pay off your account without incurring any finance charge. 1 • lux • the money issue • fall 006 h o W t o C o n ta C t marK Porter email: m a r K . J . P o r t e r @ a m P f. C o m offiCe Phone: 61-0-1 moBile Phone: 61--611 ameriPrise finanCial s e rV i C e s , i n C .  Constitution PlaZa CharlestoWn, ma W W W. a m e r i P r i s e . C o m Made in india u a r J u n J ay a D e V, p h . d . economics arjun jayadeV nlike China, india’s presence as a growing economic power is not reinforced every time you walk through the mall. its exchange rate policies are not front page news, and its burgeoning middle class and educated workforce are seen, not as a threat, but as future opportunity for american business. notwithstanding the occasional hysterical debate around outsourcing in the new york times written by thomas friedman about my hometown of Bangalore, the indian economy remains a faint echo in the american imagination. if you consider yourself less informed than you would like to be about the indian economy, here are the bare essentials that you may need to know about a country which, according to many, will be a very important world economic power in the years to come. in 00-006, india was the fourth largest economy in the world, if one takes into account the different cost of living across countries (a measure called purchasing power parity). it is the second most populous country in the world, so the average income is quite low at about $00 per person in purchasing power parity terms. it has been growing rapidly and continuously now for a quarter of a century at about % annually (about the rate that the u.s grows in a very good year). in the last few years however, the growth rate has been sharply higher at about %. a broad change in economic vision is credited with altering the low growth rates (pejoratively called the hindu rate of Growth) which prevailed during the first three decades following indian independence. first, in 10, there was an ‘attitudinal shift’ by the Prime minister indira Gandhi and later by her son rajiv Gandhi to encourage the business sector. india was a heavily controlled economy prior to the 10s and 10s and firms required many permits and licenses to operate their businesses. in addition, it was relatively closed to foreign trade in an attempt to allow domestic firms to build their own productive capacity before being exposed to international competition for markets. in 11, india formally scrapped its vision of a controlled economy, and began a period of economic liberalization. Permits for business were made easier to obtain, the economy was opened up gradually to international competition, publicly owned businesses were privatized, financial markets were decontrolled over time and the government retreated from providing aid. What followed has undoubtedly been a period of rapid growth and development. there is a large indian middle fall 006 •the money issue • lux • 1 probability of unemployment and a bleak future. Given that the larger mass of the population is in this situation, the problem becomes more urgent. in 00, a new government was sworn into power which explicitly promised to address the problems faced by the rural hinterland. the challenge facing indian policy makers today is therefore clear. they have to find a way to continue the rapid growth and poverty reduction that they have achieved over the last two decades, while at the same time addressing some of the structural inequalities and imbalances wrought by previous policies and the politically unsustainable divergence between the rural and the urban areas. this is by no class who have access to much greater opportunities means an easy task. While government intervention in and income than ever before. the major cities have the economy is looked upon with suspicion by those witnessed explosive growth as international and nawho have benefited from the progressively deregulated tional firms vie for growing markets. highly skilled and environment of the last decade, it is urgently needed by cheap labor (compared with international standards) those who have not been as fortunate. liberalization successfully compete for global business in such fields has improved the overall economic environment, but at as software developthe cost of creatthe government ceased subsidizing their input ment, BPos (Business ing multiple Process outsourcing) costs...so that their profits and livelihoods have indias in which and biotechnology. some areas have been squeezed. as a result, over two thousand While this is unprospered while doubtedly positive farmers have committed suicide since the year 000 others have news, the last decade buckled and has also been a period of very unevenly spread develshrunk. But the future, at least to the present writer, opment. states which were richer to begin with have is very hopeful. there are certainly ways to conceive grown much faster than those which were initially of intelligently designed policies which seek to redress poorer. there has been rapid growth in urban areas, but the worst failings of liberalization and to combine despite decent growth in agriculture, the rural economy these with incentives for lagging regions to find ways faces a crisis as rural livelihoods have collapsed. the to make use of the opportunities provided by growing manufacturing sector remains small and there is a big internal and external markets. how india goes about problem that the economy faces in the future to provide implementing these policies and reacting to the forces decent employment to its growing labor force. unleashed by them will determine the manner of its these negative effects have been the dark side of libcontinued emergence on the world stage in the decades eralization. as an infamous example, consider the story to come. of cotton farmers who have faced severe international INDIA - CHINA SIMILARITIES competition in terms of the output prices. at the same & DIFFERENCES (PriceWaterHouseCoopers) time, the government ceased subsidizing their input costs such as fertilizers and electricity, so that their profThe World Bank estimates poverty levels in China fell from its and livelihoods have been squeezed. as a result, over 32% in 1990 to 16% in 2000 two thousand farmers have committed suicide since the Indian poverty declined from 44% in 1983 to 26% in 2000 year 000. an equally problematic situation is the peculiar India’s population: 50% under 25 years of age, 85% below pattern of development. for reasons not very well 50 years of age understood, india has seen very little growth in laborChina’s population: 15% over age 65 intensive manufacturing (as might be expected in the normal trajectory of growth) and much larger growth China, as a member of the World Trade Organization in services. those who are in agriculture and who wish (WTO), is a preferred location for foreign investors whereas to find jobs in manufacturing have a very difficult time India bans foreign retailers from entering the country. simply because these jobs are not being created at a rapid enough clip (this pattern is also why you don’t China’s economic advantage is the low cost of its see many goods manufactured in india in u.s. malls). blue-collar workers. India’s advantage is in its white-collar workers and its techas time goes on and the labor force becomes larger and nologically driven economy larger, those with low skills are faced with a greater 1 • lux • the money issue • fall 006 oriGins of Cash B a r B a r a a . W o r l e y, p h . d . anthropology s a Columbia university doctoral student doing ethnographic field work among tent-dwelling twareg camel nomads in the central sahara (niger, 1-6), i discovered that the battered and stained red stone pendants that women hung from braided leather cords around their necks meant something more to them than just pieces of jewelry; before the twentieth century, they were a form of money. Just one of these stones could purchase a camel. in american society, some might think that the dollar is our national artifact of greatest value, since it drives our economy, empowers our political system and makes people get out of bed at seven in the morning and sit in cubicles all day in front of computers. however, money has no intrinsic value at all: it is merely a piece of paper, a slab of metal, or a handful of sea shells. money is something that humans create to symbolize “value.” humans arbitrarily assign “value” to objects, and these become shared symbols that we depend on for our sustenance and cultural lifestyles – that ultimately provide strong motivation for us to work 0 hours a week, think about purchasing a new iPod, vote for one candidate over another, and select a suitable mate. the first money was probably some form of “general purpose money,” objects that people in a particular culture agreed would represent a particular value of exchange, for particular items. in twareg society, for example, the anfagh is a dark red carnelian or agate stone neck pendant in the shape of a triangle; it is believed to be related to the ankh of ancient egyptians, who are linguistically and culturally linked to the north african a ancestors of twaregs. the anfagh, worn by twareg women, is more than just a body ornament: it represents the value of one camel. more than that, the pendant symbolizes the special akh idderan (“living milk”) herds of valuable milk camels given to twareg women by their fathers and brothers. Before the introduction of “general purpose money” in niger such as french francs, such pendants were imported from india along the ancient trans-saharan trade routes through egypt, and twareg oral history recounts how caravan merchants in pre-colonial days could purchase a twareg camel for each pendant they brought with them. General purpose money also includes livestock; in societies where a man must pay a bride price for his wife, people have arbitrarily placed a value on a certain number of cattle or camels required for acquiring a wife. Pastoralist societies often measure wealth in terms of the number of livestock a person owns. in twareg society, the term ehare means both “herds” and “wealth.” in many cultures, sea shells were used as a medium of exchange. native americans, for example, used the Dentalium pretiosum, a tusk-shaped shell harvested along the northwest coast whose value was measured by length, not the number of shells. in africa and asia, the most common shell money was the cowry shell, Cypraea moneta, found mainly in the indian ocean, and used as currency as far away as West africa. the German explorer heinrich Barth recounts his visit to the King of Bornu, who collected taxes in cowry shells (one thousand per head of household), and whose worth was fall 006 •the money issue • lux • 1 LUX tell us what you want to see, baby. luX@umb.edu said to be thirty million cowries. General purpose money such as coins, paper bills, and checks, are used in nearly all societies today as a fundamental feature of market exchange in the global economy. Just recently (July 006), archaeologists working on an ancient thracian site in tekirdag, turkey, discovered a cache of nearly 00 coins, dating to at least 000 years ago. in China, a cast copper coin found in association with shang Dynasty remains was dated back to the 11th century B.C.. the Greeks began producing coinage in the mid-seventh century B.C.; the earliest were made of electrum, a mixture of gold and silver. When general purpose money is introduced into a culture that used special purpose money, it can make major changes in the way people relate to one another. for example, in east african societies where a man traditionally exchanged cattle for a bride, men who are poor can work at wage labor jobs and obtain cash to purchase a bride and avoid having to borrow cattle from their relatives. this might seem like a good thing from our perspective, but from the pastoralists’ perspective it means that social relations are cut off with the new arrangement: loans of cattle are important building blocks of social relations, and debt obligations keep relatives tied to one another cooperatively in important ways. societies that use cattle as money generally have stronger kinship connections than societies that depend on cash. Cash has the advantage of being portable: unlike a camel, you can carry it around with you, and you don’t even have to have it in your pocket to spend it when you buy something on the internet. it’s also easier to divide up: when relatives inherit an estate in livestock, they may have to accept “a leg” of a cow or camel instead of a whole animal, and so several people’s fortunes may be tied up in one animal. also it’s easier for a government to keep control over cash and apply legal sanctions because it is easy to count and ownership is harder to contest. Growing wealth in pastoralist societies means working alongside your relatives to take good care of the livestock so that they will produce more livestock. Growing wealth can be a lot harder in cash economies: you have to look for scarce jobs and hope that downsizing, outsourcing and layoffs don’t set you back! 16 • lux • the money issue • fall 006 top r m a u r a m a s t, p h . d . mathematics 10 n o W reasons to start saving for your retirement these are difficult things to think about (much less live with); you need to give yourself as many options as you can. you may be able to depend on social security (more on that below), medicare, or medicaid when you retire. But being completely dependent on these programs means that someone else will be making choices for you, choices such as how much money you’ll receive each month, which doctors you can see, which prescription medicines you can take, which medical tests you can have. etirement is certainly a long way away. in fact, you may not even have a job yet – how can you think about retirement? my advice is to think about it nonetheless, and take advantage of the fact that it is a long time away. that means that the money you set aside now will have time to grow into a larger amount that you will be happy to have when you retire. i’ve looked at some of these ideas (especially the math behind them) with my students in my honors course “mathematics and Democracy.” let me give you ten reasons to start saving for retirement now in order to have more control over your life. 8. Be in controL 10. Who can predict the it’s hard to know how much money you’ll need in 0 years (much less next year). still, it’s good to make some guesses and start saving now. you may be able to depend on a partner or on children, but they may be depending on you instead. Be prepared, which means start thinking ahead and putting a little aside each year for those future years. future? yes, it may still be around when you retire. or it may be running out of money and paying reduced benefits. Whatever happens, make sure you don’t have to depend on it for your full retirement income. the average social security benefit is currently about $1000 per month – not much to live on these days. 7. don’t Be so secure aBout sociaL security 6. you a pLan may aLready Be there, Waiting for 9. yes, you have expenses now. and no, you probably don’t have much money. But you also have options – if you need more money now, you can pick up extra work or change your job. When you’re older, you may not have these options. and you may not want to work anymore, or you may not be able to work. What if your health declines and you can’t work? What if you don’t have health insurance? What if you have to go into assisted living or a nursing home? nursing home costs average $000 per month in massachusetts, and that doesn’t include medication and hospital visits. Life is expensive if your employer offers a pension or a tax-sheltered plan, such as a 01(k), then the hard work is already done. it’s taken out of your paycheck automatically, so you may not even notice much of a difference. But when you retire, you’ll be glad you did it. it’s usually not too difficult to roll your current balance into an ira or into your new employer’s retirement plan. your employer may be willing to pay for part of your retirement, either through a guaranteed pension plan or through regular contributions to your 01(k) plan. yes, fall 006 •the money issue • lux • 1 5. free money! that’s right – some benefits packages include an employer contribution to a retirement plan, often one that matches your contribution. this could double your contribution and double the amount waiting for you when you retire. the money you put away for retirement now is usually not taxed until you retire (when you might be in a lower tax bracket). this may lower the taxes you pay now. it might not make much of a difference when you are a student or only working part-time, but in a few years it could save you some real money, which you could invest further... there are few things we really have control over in this world. Why add your financial situation in retirement to that list? the choices are pretty stark – you can live in poverty later, or you can get by with a bit less now so that you will have more later. my dad’s retirement funds are in tiaa-Cref, like mine. he’s fortunate that his university contributed generously and forced him to contribute. he can depend on this money now that he’s retired, when his expenses are unexpectedly high due to medical problems. inflation reduces your buying power. if the annual inflation rate this past year was % (that’s about what it was last year), then you need an extra % in cash to buy stuff today. that is, what cost $1 last year will cost $1.0 today. if your salary also goes up by % (or more), this isn’t too bad, and your purchasing power will stay about the same. But you can’t count on that always happening. and once you retire, you don’t have a salary. Did you know that the math is in your favor? if you invest a small amount of money every month for the next 0 or 0 years, it will grow to a large amount of money. that’s the amazing part of what we mathematicians call exponential growth. suppose you save $00 each month for  years. assuming a conservative interest rate of %, you will have about $00,000 after  years. you would have deposited a total of $10,000 (that’s $00 per month for 1 months for  years), but the compound interest would have helped this grow by about $00,000. you may not be able to afford to invest that much right now. But if you wait and invest $00 for 0 years, you will only end up with about $1,10. the sooner you start, the more you will benefit from compounding. even if you just start with $0 per month, it will pay off in the long run. some web sites to look at for further information: www.ssa.gov http://money.cnn.com/pf/101/lessons/1/ 1 • lux • the money issue • fall 006 so, 4. LoWer your taxes hoW muCh Do you sPenD a WeeK on Coffee? Mathew aMes Major: English “I spend approximately $30/week on coffee, minimum, and I never seem to have enough money for the amount of coffee that I need in my life.” 3. take controL and make your oWn choices 2. infLation never rests Baindu k. CooMBer Major: Human Services and Psychology Baindu spends at least $3.00 on coffee and hot drinks, “Good thing I’m only here Tuesdays and Thursdays!” 1. the poWer of compounding Chawla Major: Biology “I spend about $2 dollars of coffee a day, which is about $730 a year . Jeez!” Priyanka s C h o l a r s h i P s ta r a D e l m o n i C o cholarship opportunities are a form of funding all students should ask about. as an office assistant in the merit scholarship office, i frequently receive phone calls, visits, and e-mails from students who say that they “never knew that umass Boston offered scholarships,” or “weren’t aware of deadlines or even how to apply.” there is one almighty question that college students must face: how am i going to pay for this? many students who attend umass Boston full-time both commute and work full-time jobs. finding the resources to attend college is priority. the first step that many students (and parents) take to ease the cost of tuition and fees is to fill out a free application for student aid (fafsa) form. some students are pleased to find that they can get ample support. students should be aware that umass Boston only offers scholarships to students who are official massachusetts state residents. students who are considered international or out-of-state students may apply for scholarships, but will not receive priority during decision making. the only scholarship program that is available for all students, including residents, out-of state students, and international students, is the student enrollment leaders Program, a scholarship program that awards students scholarship money and a part time job in one of the enrollment services offices. many students are displeased when they realize that they can’t get a scholarship simply because they are not massachusetts residents; however, we are a state institution, benefiting from state tax dollars. s these scholarships are known as recruitment scholarships, and the deadlines for these scholarships occur in march and June of each year. recruitment scholarships are the largest monetary scholarship amounts, most of which are full rides to the university. of course, most of the readers of this article are current students at umass Boston, so knowing about recruitment scholarships might not be of much interest. But many students are displeased to find out how they were eligible for these scholarships and simply were not aware of them in time to apply. applying for scholarships is a process that students should look into before the first day of class. students can apply for scholarships at two times during their career. the first is when the student is a high school senior or a transferring college student, before the student has matriculated into the umass Boston system and has not taken any courses at the university. ing transfer credits). the reason for waiting until this point in a student’s academic career is that scholarship fund donors want to know the student’s performance. these scholarships are known as continuing scholarships, since they award current students at umass Boston. the largest continuing scholarship program that the merit scholarship office runs yearly starting in september is called the Comprehensive scholarship Program for Continuing students. after running a search on the entire umass Boston undergraduate system, students who show up as eligible to apply are personally mailed an application. so as long as your address is up to date on the Wiser system, you will receive this application from our office without even knowing that the program existed. unfortunately, sometimes there are glitches in the mailing system, so some students who should receive an application do not. in addition to this, students may not check their mail frequently enough to receive the application in time to gather materials together and apply. in this case, our office does promotions for the Comprehensive scholarship Program by putting ads in the mass media and posting flyers throughout the campus. if a student sees that he or she meets the requirements but didn’t receive an application, he or she could contact the office to receive one. an updated application is also fall 006 •the money issue • lux • 1 the second time that a student can apply for scholarships is when the student has acquired twenty-four or more credits at umass Boston (roughly two semesters, not includ- located on our website (see below) which students can print and fill out. Personally contacting all students at umass Boston is virtually impossible, so it is the student’s responsibility to make sure they are aware of scholarship opportunities year-round. the easiest way to apply for scholarships is to contact us. the best way to reach us and get a fast response is via e-mail. students are also welcome to call the merit scholarship office or visit on the fourth floor of the Campus Center. if no one is available at the office to speak with you, inquiry forms are also available to fill out and drop off for us. We will get back to you as soon as possible. since scholarship opportunities may sometimes occur sporadically as more funds become available throughout the year, it is hard to predict exactly when a scholarship may become available. to reiterate, the largest scholarship program for continuing students is the Comprehensive Scholarship Program, the deadline of which occurs on november 0, 006. applications were mailed to students and are also available online and in our office. this application requires that students are massachusetts state residents, full-time students, have a GPa of .0 or higher, and have twenty-four or more credits acquired at umass Boston (CPCs students must have eight or more competencies and be considered in good standing). the application process consists of filling out the general application form, writing an essay on one of two topics discussed in detail in the application form, submitting a copy of the student’s most recent transcript, and submitting a letter of recommendation from a umass Boston professor. Generally speaking, any other scholarship opportunity that occurs during the year requires that the student meet the same eligibility requirements as the Comprehensive scholarship Program; however, students should contact our office about current scholarship opportunities to get more information about applying and requirements. students may request a Continuing student scholarship application at any time during the year. applying in the fall maximizes the chance that students will receive funding. realizing that you were eligible to apply for a scholarship but weren’t aware of it in the first place is a very discouraging feeling for students. the best way to ensure that you won’t experience this is to contact us with any questions. these scholarships exist for your benefit. STOP LYING AROUND! VISIT CAREER SERVICES one of the best resources for students seeking professional development • • up to date job posting on our bulletin board take the PinPoint Guidance system test that analyzes your personal traits, interests and skills to lead you to a career where you can thrive internships & student exchange expert interview and resume advice ...and much more! Visit us Campus Center 1st floor rm. 1100 (61) -1 email: careers@umb.edu • • A penny for your thoughts It costs the united states Mint 1.4 cents to make a penny. the u.s. Mint produces 1040 pennies per second, which adds up to 30 million per day. this is over two-thirds of all the coins produced by the u.s. Mint. funny Money the federal reserve Bank of san francisco reports that by the end of the Civil War, between one-third and one-half of all u.s. paper currency in circulation was counterfeit. fIfty neW QuArters through the year 2008, the 50 state Quarters program will honor every American state, in the order they each joined the union. this innovative ten-year program releases every a new state’s quarter every ten weeks - released in the order states were admitted into the union. c o m p i l e d by C h r I st I n e d e pA l M A merit scholarship office www.umb.edu/students/scholarship merit.scholarship@umb.edu th floor Campus Center 61--606 0 • lux • the money issue • fall 006 Delta sigma Pi: a Co-ed professional business Fraternity Dan Collins any student organizations exist on campus Delta sigma Pi now has over 00,000 members, over to assist students in furthering their profes60 collegiate chapters, and over 0 alumni chapters sional and academic growth. While many of in cities across the country. this large population them are utilized effectively, many suffer from a lack of members make Delta sigma Pi a great networking of participation. this is regrettable, as they are great and professional development opportunity for those opportunities for students to apply their knowledge, studying business and economics, especially as Delta skills, and leadership in ways that would be appealing sigma Pi celebrates its centennial anniversary. Delta to both graduate schools and employers. additionsigma Pi is also a member of and affiliated with the ally, these student association to groups are ideal advance Colactivities to list legiate schools on resumes that of Business (the will surely be institution that asked about duralso accredits ing interviews. umass Boston’s Just before College of manclasses began, i agement) and was fortunate to the Professional hear Vice Chanfraternity ascellor of student sociation. affairs Patrick the xi Phi Day speak to an Chapter of audience of inDelta sigma Pi coming students. at the universihe told them that ty of massachu“all students, faculty, and staff are welit is vital to get setts Boston was involved on campus with come and encouraged to attend the numer- founded on January student organizations, , 00 and has ous professional deVelopment and community particularly emphasizing since become one of serVice eVents hosted by the chapter” the importance of orgathe fastest growing nizations relating to academic programs and careers. and most professional chapters in new england. in he also noted the added benefit of organizations with 006, a member of the umass Boston chapter won connections outside the umass Boston community. the new england region Collegian of the year award. all of these qualities perfectly describe the student following that award, two members won national group of which i am president: Delta sigma Pi. scholarships-one on the undergraduate level and Delta sigma Pi is a co-ed, professional business fraone on the graduate level, one of which was the top ternity open to students in the College of management ranked national scholarship in the fraternity. During or students majoring in economics. a recent conference in harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the as stated in the Delta sigma Pi mission statement, chapter won three awards, including most improved the fraternity “is organized to foster the study of Chapter in the northeastern Province and outstandbusiness in universities; to encourage scholarship, ing Community service in new england. We hope social activity and the association of students for to take home more awards at the upcoming spring their mutual advancement by research and practice; conference in Providence. additionally, the chapter to promote closer affiliation between the commercial has just undertaken an ambitious project to raise an world and students of commerce, and to further a endowment of $0,000 over a period of six years for a higher standard of commercial ethics and culture and scholarship available to members of the xi Phi chapter the civic and commercial welfare of the community.” and eligible students in the umass Boston community. originally founded at new york university in 10, membership is available to any student pursuing fall 006 •the money issue • lux • 1 m an undergraduate or graduate business or economics degree as well as faculty and staff assisting with the fraternity’s activities. nevertheless, all students, faculty, and staff are welcome and encouraged to attend the numerous professional development and community service events hosted by the chapter. each year the chapter organizes between eight and ten professional development events and between six and eight community service events. the chapter also sends members to national conferences in the fall, spring, and summer to represent umass Boston on the national level. additionally, numerous regional meetings in new england allow for connections to the corporate world through alumni presence at meetings. like any other national organization, many benefits come with admission. as mentioned earlier, availability of events, conferences, and scholarships and award programs are a valuable resource. the opportunity to network and speak with alumni members across the country can be an important tool in a job search. furthermore, there are businesses that are affinity partners, offering discounts on a variety of goods and services. honors ProGram at umass Boston an opportunity for those who seek challenge the university honors Program seeks to meet the needs of students who thrive on intellectual challenge by offering special interdisciplinary academic opportunities outside the major. these students are curious, ambitious, reflective, and independent-minded. Benefits of ProGram memBershiP • • • • specially designed courses for honors students small class size seminar room and study area with computers, open daily intensive, personalized advising the leadership structure of Delta sigma Pi is multi-layered, allowing many fraternity members to have decision-making roles. every chapter mirrors the structure of a cor- poration and acts as a business entity. the executive Board consists of a President, senior Vice President, and Vice Presidents of finance, Professional activity, Community service, scholarship and awards, new member education, alumni relations, and Chapter operations. each of these Vice President level positions then in turn has a “department” working for them. there are also various other committees organized to keep every member involved with the many aspects of the organization, providing all members with excellent opportunities to develop themselves professionally and personally while augmenting their resumes. lux was originally founded as an honors Program newsletter and embodies the same philosophy of learning through exploring and sharing dynamic forms of knowledge. University of Massachusetts Boston Campus Center | First Floor, Room 1414 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston MA 021253393 | 617-287-5520 | honors@umb.edu For more information about delta sigma pi, please visit the national website www.dspnet. org or email the uMass boston Xi phi chapter at: info.dspumb@gmail.com Members are available to meet with anyone interested in learning more about the fraternity. applications are considered at the beginning of every semester. For more information about the scholarship endowment, please email: dcollins.dspumb@gmail.com  • lux • the money issue • fall 006 www.taxes.about.com/od/preparingyourtaxes/tp/ freefile.htm General tax info: www.usa-federal-state-individual-tax.com Paying taxes late: www.fool.com/taxes/00/taxes0001.htm ***did you know that eVen if you are eXempt from filing a return you can still file one to get any taXes that haVe been withheld from your paycheck?*** The Most Popular Free Tax Programs tax info for students: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/students/index.html See ourTax article: page 28 n i k i l o s h . c o m i n n o Vat i o n i n a D V e r t i s i n G LuX asked nick pierce, the co-creator of an internet advertising company, to tell us about his unique concept that makes mainstream ads yesterday’s news- yet little did we know what we were getting ourselves into… josh and nick n: Well i…hey, i thought we were going to talk about nickilosh.com. nick: fine fine. What is niCKilosh.com? n: nickilosh.com is an internet advertising firm that i started with my good buddy Josh santora in 00. it is internet video based on the concept of Brand hijack. We wanted to make a dent on the marketing world by showing that saying your name over and over again to the public is not going to work anymore. nick: oK nick, for my first question… however did you get so darn handsome? there are better, more memorable ways to make the public love you. People want to relate to your brand, you just need to give them a reason and that’s where we come in. nick: and what exactly is Brand hijack, you gorgeous hunk? n: Well, Brand hijack is a term best defined in alex Wipperfurth’s book Brand hijack. nick: that doesn’t tell me anything, you jerk. Give me the gist of it or something. n: Calm down, nick. Brand hijack is a theory that brands like CocaCola and mcDonalds are not really property of the companies because they belong to the people who use them. now technically they belong to the people that own them, but anyone can help define the brand. What if you could take the brand for yourself and drive the advertising and idea of starbucks or nutella? if you help the brand that drives their products then companies would have to be crazy not pay you large amounts of cash money. nick: Don’t tell me to calm down. i’m not afraid to mess up that pretty face of yours. now, this all seems ridiculous. how could an unbelievably good looking guy like yourself possibly hope to hijack a brand? n: Well, there are lots of ways you can do it, such as by brand documentaries or creating a pop-culture fad, but the way we went was advertising entertainment on the internet. our videos are impressive, to say the least, and people enjoy them to the point where it becomes a form of entertainment, connecting them to the product as opposed to a brand-pushing ad. nick: huh. you don’t say? n: that’s right, nick. most ads stink-would you not agree? nick: i agree with everything you say. n: that is really why we got started. advertising is so bland and seems like it gets more standard every day. i became interested in advertising from CoBranit.com and my buddy Josh was always into acting and film. so it began. We bought a fancy camera and learned how to edit and compress video. nick: this is the most interesting thing i have ever heard. they have to be entertaining. you must connect people to the brand. nick: What is so special about your ads that anyone should give you enormous amounts of cash money? n: advertising is changing. television ads are going under because of the internet, tivo, and on demand cable. you can’t force ads down people’s throats anymore. so instead of showing people crap they don’t care about, you have to draw them to your advertisements. n: Well, you really have to see them yourself, but in general the idea is that we have more freedom because we are on the internet and don’t have to answer to anyone. it’s also much cheaper and more effective than other forms of advertising. our style is not compatible for everyone, but we’re willing to take a chance and do something that’s edgy or offensive, and some people like that. nick: have you had any success yet? n: monetarily, no. We have, however, had a lot of bites and interest. the public seem to love us, but companies don’t seem to be willing to take the chance on something as different as us yet. our pieces have been used in a presentation to taster’s Choice by a marketing company trying to get their contract. they were making a case for more •  fall 006 •the money issue • lux web-based advertising. We have had minor interest from Pabst, which fell through, but they are now going to use our videos at events that they sponsor at bars and concerts. nick: are you afraid of the brands taking your ideas and doing it themselves? n: absolutely not. We encourage others to join in and submit ideas, videos, or music of their own. no one can steal nickilosh. com because it is in our brains. nick: What’s next for nickilosh.com and your huge, rippling nickilosh muscles? n: Well, we recently made our two friends full partners in nickilosh.comJoey Webb and Cris laCroix. We felt there were certain aspects in which we have hit a dead end, so they are here to create out-of-the-box concepts and sell nickilosh.com to the corporations. nick: What was the name of the site again? n: nickilosh.com. nick: i’m sorry, i missed it again, i had a small tortoise in my ear. What was it? n: no problem, niCKilosh.com. nick: Would you like to spell that for everyone? n: n-i-C-K-i-l-o-sh.com nick: should people check it out? n: yes. nick: Who should? n: everyone except you, nick.you have already seen it a number of times. How mUcH do yoU spend on books eacH semester? renata de carValho major: nursing “this semester i spent over $00 on books, which absolutely killed me! money is a big issue for all college students and if somehow the cost of books could be reduced i’m sure our stress levels would be reduced, too!” anastasia sobolyeVa major: Chemistry “i haven’t bought all the books i need. normally, i spend about $00-00. in the bookstore, they have this amaZinG deal where if you spend $10 for a chem book, you get a whole $, if you sell it back” nanor koujanian major: Biochemistry “i spent $10 dollars on three books online rather than spending the same amount of money for one book if i wanted to buy it from the bookstore. it saves to do things in advance!” julio diaz major: Biology “Book costs affected me so much this year that i wasn’t able to buy a single book so far this semester.” sure Julio, that’s our excuse too...  • lux • the money issue • fall 006 K at e D a n C K e rt he life of a college student is a balancing act. Keeping up with reading assignments, hectic jobs, and a social life is no easy feat. add the daunting idea of a career choice and the balancing act gets a bit shaky. not only do we have to worry about here and now, we also have to worry about our futures. Choices are thrown at us left and right--different majors, part-time jobs that could become careers, internships, and lots of people with lots of opinions. to say we’re under pressure is an understatement. nineteen-year-old Clara hendricks, a sophomore at umass Boston, is all too familiar with this sort of pressure. she juggles a part time job doing promotions for the popular somerville restaurant redbones, a full course load at umB, an internship at a reproductive rights organization, and a volunteer position at the Papercut Zine library in harvard square. fortunately, the hours are flexible at both her job at redbones and her internship, but she still has a lot to manage. Clara admits that having so much going on has forced her to prioritize her activities, emphatically noting how especially important one activity in her life is: the Papercut Zine library. the Papercut Zine library, located at  mount auburn street in Cambridge, has been open to the public since may 00. Clara has been involved in the project from the beginning, working as a Zine librarian for a few hours each week. t a zine, as defined by a pamphlet put out by the library, is “an underground publication that is independently produced and self-published.” their collection is catalogued by category, with topics rangfall 006 •the money issue • lux •  ing from food to feminism to anarchy. Currently, space is not a problem, but with the growing number of zines, it could become one. the library is only one room, roughly the size of a classroom in Wheatley. since the building is owned by a philanthropist and shared by other student groups, the library does not have to pay rent. instead, they have to perform basic building maintenance in order to stay there. the library is run entirely by volunteers who use a collective system to make decisions. upon entering the building that houses the Papercut Zine library, you can tell right away that the student groups in the building are politically motivated. in the foyer, a bulletin board hangs covered with flyers advertising rallies and discussions about an array of topics: the environment, government, immigration, democracy, marxism, and gay rights. most of the zine categories are also politically charged and predominantly left-wing. Clara says that working at the zine library has caused her to really focus on her own interest in activism. as a Women’s studies major, she says working at the library complements her studies and her internship very well. she says, “We have a lot of feminist zines and zines about reproductive rights and sexual assault--things that all relate to Women’s studies.” moreover, since most of the advertising for the Papercut Zine library comes from distributing flyers during activist events, Clara is in contact with many activist organizations. When asked if she considers herself an entrepreneur for being one of the founders of the Zine library, she says no because she does not earn any money from working there. in terms of other personal profits, however, Clara has hit it big. she says that all of the people who work at the Zine library have become an important part of her life and that she gets personal satisfaction from working in a change-making organization. she says, “a lot of people wouldn’t think of this as a change-making organization, but i think that just providing people with information and having an outlet where people who could not be published mainstream is powerful.” she appreciates the fact that she can help spread the message of free speech and knowledge. in terms of her future, Clara says that she most 6 • lux • the money issue • fall 006 Choices are thrown at us left and right-different majors, parttime jobs that could become careers, internships, and lots of people with lots of opinions. to say we’re under pressure is an understatement. likely will pursue a career in library science. this was a goal she had before working at the Zine library that has certainly been confirmed by her positive experience working there. Despite the fact that she doesn’t earn money working at the Zine library, Clara is not only creating a strong foundation for her future by getting involved in an organization that she is passionate about, she is also gaining valuable work skills and clarity about her career plans. she suggests that anyone interested in joining an activist group look for an organization and contact them because they are always recruiting. finding a field you care about today is a great way to reinforce or inspire new career plans. Just ask Clara- she knows. Papercut Zine library  mount auburn st. harvard square www.myspace.com/papercutzinelibrary a hidden Gem: umB’s small business Carolina GomeZ t takes a lot to open a new business. financial planning, strategic planning, as well as marketing and management skills are vital for a business to thrive. new entrepreneurs are full of ideas and may have studied the process of business creation, yet may lack the actual experience. the university of massachusetts small Business Development Center (sBDC) and minority Business Center provide one-on-one counseling to new entrepreneurs and also pre-existing and successful entrepreneurs who seek advice on how to improve the operation of their businesses–all of this on our own campus. the massachusetts sBDC network (msBDC) represents a partnership between the federal government (small Business administration), our state economic development agency (ma office of Business & technology) and a lead academic institution (umass). funds provided by the federal government are matched by the state while local colleges and universities provide a home for each center. in massachusetts there are six full service centers located across the state; there are also two specialty centers providing help with government contracting and international trade. the mission of the sBDC is to “provide small businesses with high-quality, in-depth counseling, training and capital access, contributing to the entrepreneurial growth of small businesses throughout massachusetts.” the sBDC is staffed by counselors who are or once were business owners and entrepreneurs themselves, bringing with them a wealth of experience to better help entrepreneurs seeking advice. the sBDC at umass Boston, affiliated with the College of management, started six years ago when the minority Business Center already in place was expanded to a traditional sBDC. its initiative was community outreach with business assistance that focused on the urban market and the minority community. in the fiscal year ending this month, the umass Boston sBDC will have provided counseling to nearly 00 clients (0% minorities, % women) and provided training to more than 00 workshop attendees throughout the greater Boston metropolitan area. mark r. allio is a management Counselor with the umass Boston sBDC and currently serves as its i DeVeloPment Center interim Director. he received his B.a. from york university in Canada and his m.B.a. from Babson College in Wellesley. after working for seven years as a strategy consultant with his family’s business, and another seven years in the non-profit sector managing several art centers and museums, allio became an entrepreneur and co-founded two companies: tracrac, a fall river-based manufacturer of automotive accessories, and Virtuous.com, an e-ticketing service provider for live music, art and entertainment events (which he describes as an “anti-ticketmaster.”) upon selling his business interests two years ago, he decided to join the sBDC at umass Boston where he could apply the lessons he learned as an entrepreneur. When asked about the advantages of having the sBDC on campus, he says, “We’re able to offer real world practical perspectives that come outside the classroom experience.” those perspectives may differ from other business assistance providers, since it comes from people who have actually started businesses themselves and have personally gone through the whole process. allio says that there are three key things that students and the community should know about the sBDC. the first thing is that the center offers free, confidential, bilingual counseling to anyone, both those who want to start a business and those who already are in business. second, the sBDC offers free monthly workshops that focus on starting or running small businesses. third, the center provides help with capital access funding and loan package development. these services are available to all umass Boston students. the small business deVelopment center is located mccormack building. for more info, and to register for workshops, see www.ebdc.umb.edu or call 617-287-7750. on the fifth floor of the fall 006 •the money issue • lux •  HOW IT WILL BE, OnE fOr yOu, eorge harrison of the Beatles wrote these opening lyrics to his hit song “taxman” in 166, venting his anger against the British government after he found out they took home nearly  percent of his yearly earnings. though taxes are not as severe nowadays, the typical college student still loses a sizeable amount of their miniscule income paid to our dear state of “taxachusetts”. the tax that often goes unnoticed yet hurts the pockets of students the most is the sales tax. in massachusetts, according to the Department of revenue, a % tax must be paid on “tangible personal property or certain telecommunications services sold or rented in the Commonwealth,” as well as all prepared meals. five percent may seem like nothing, but in the end, it all adds up. say the typical student expenditure on goods, services and meals averages out to be about forty dollars a day (and that doesn’t include tip). this equates to about $ of taxes by the end of the year on top of the amount paid for those services. next time you go shopping, make sure you add an extra % to the ticket price of the item. But of course, nothing kills one’s income more than the dreaded income tax. nearly all taxpayers loathe the 1th of april when they know that their hard-earned income will be government property, both state and federal. the true hard-hitting effects of income tax are tempered for the typical college student as they usually fall in the lowest income brackets. this means only 10 or 1 percent of their income is forfeited in federal taxes compared to the steep fee of  percent posed on those who fall in the top income bracket. nevertheless, it still hurts a college student, who between food, rent, and tuition barely has enough money left to live on. at times, finances can put you in a rut, especially around tax season. What happens if you can’t pay those dreaded taxes? Well the irs won’t knock on your door  • lux • the money issue • fall 006 “LET ME TELL yOu Taxes anDreW ClarK G nInETEEn fOr ME.” and break your legs, but they can penalize you with fines and repossessions, so it is imperative that taxes get paid. there are a plethora of alternatives that can be used to aid you in paying taxes during rough spots including using a credit card, paying in increments and incurring the interest added on per payment, or simply asking for an extension. income taxation is a very perplexing thing. fortunately there are a plethora of programs and resources to help the everyday taxpayer. tax payers can take their dreaded taxes to firms such as h & r Block whose average tax return for clients is $,00 and who charge upwards of $00 depending on your situation, assets and number of deductions. if you don’t want to fork over that kind of money you can find comprehensive software that guides you through the process for a fraction of the cost. Programs such as turbotax, tax aCt, and Complete tax, can be bought for about $, making paying taxes a breeze by saving the student both time and stress. is $ still too much? most companies have free versions of their software for filing federal tax returns (state tax returns are usually an extra $10). most free programs have income restrictions and you cannot use them if you make over a certain amount of money. in addition, the irs has set up a website especially to help students with any tax issues pertinent to them. When George harrison said “now my advice for those who die, Declare the pennies on your eyes,” in his hit song “taxman”, he was only making a fraction of the money he earned while the British government took the rest. We may have it rough nowadays, with so many taxes on goods and the amount of work that has to go into filing, however, with the all of the resources available to us and the consistent regression of the amount we have to pay compared to previous years, we have no reason to hate the tax man, well, that much anyway. Free tax websites: page 22 money, people, and fighting poVerty a Cost Benefit analysis Charles Chear especially from the per- and deadly attempts, my parents arrived fatefully at spective of public policy, money is the overwhelming the same refugee camp on the border of Cambodia and concern. We see the lack of money as the cause and thailand. after being in the camp for approximately its availability as the solution to poverty. While money two years, my parents got on an airplane and arrived in is very important, social capital needs to be held in the united states as refugees on January , 1. they equal consideration. arrived with nothing except a few articles of clothing, social capital is the act of each other, and uncertainty. personal engagement and buildWhile it seems often We have all seen or been ing relationships. sociologist that stories of struggle and Pierre Bourdieu describes it as survival such as this one victims of isolation...of “a durable network of…relaare meant to vouch for the and tionships of mutual acquainpower of the individual will to stand alone, it is perhaps tance.” my experience with communities, and it is refugee populations, the Boston a more daunting but truthful impossible to deny its homeless population, and acatask to use these stories as a demic studies have been powerway to understand the power devastating effect... fully convincing of the arguof individuals as they stand ment for social capital as the together. it was impossible to isolation causes primary tool against poverty. be a loner during the genomoney and social capital are cide. People grasped onto interrelated in many ways while whomever they could. they remaining separate subjects with isolated functions. shared food, medicine, and clothing. During this time, i have learned lessons as to how they have worked everybody was part of the same struggle and thus, part together, but more interestingly how social capital has of the same family. been able to help where money could not. individuals upon the arrival of Cambodian refugees in the united working collectively to effect change are a powerful states, relationships immediately formed with their new entity-social capital is an idea that i myself am very con- american neighbors and churches. some relationships nected to. were bad-families victim to harsh racism and xenophotwo decades ago, many perished during the reign of bia-but others were very positive and full of empathy. the Khmer rouge in Cambodia. the results were devKnowing that my parents had suffered greatly, black astating: two million people dead in less than five years. and white neighbors shared resources and knowledge. in 1, my mother was sent to a Khmer rouge labor they were patient in teaching my family the english camp at the age of 1, and my father, at the age of , language and american culture. they welcomed us was sent to a different camp. for four years, my mother to the united states and, more importantly, embraced was in the labor camp and was assigned various farmour way of living. We have all seen or been victims of ing tasks and carried heavy loads of dirt to build dams. isolation, isolation of individuals and communities, and her family was split apart and sent to different sites. it is impossible to deny its devastating effect. Whether my uncle, who was in the same group as my mother, it was the kid everyone picked on and ignored in high died a year later from exhaustion. school, or black youth in the harshest neighborhoods of When they were able to escape after numerous failed america, isolation causes invisibility and weakness. We i n the fight against poVerty, individuals invisibility and weakness. fall 006 •the money issue • lux •  are now independently thriving because of that initial embrace. my parents own a small business now, and it took hard work to secure our middle class lifestyle. my mother earned a high school degree, while my father did not go beyond an elementary education. my mother was part of an english as a second language program that taught basic reading, writing, science, and math. my father, on the other hand, cannot spell our street name, despite having lived there for over fifteen years. severely lacking in their education, my parents tried their best to prepare for the challenges my sister and i would face with our education. my father would take me to computer stores to search for educational CDroms because he could barely read and understand them. he asked if i would like a private tutor, but knowing how expensive it would be, i turned it down. instead, i relied on neighbors. i learned from more established and educated asian americans. i learned from non-asian american friends and their families who taught the ins and outs of the american education system. Blessed with living in a mixed income and multiracial community, i was able to absorb perspectives from both traditionally disadvantaged and privileged groups and how they maneuvered in social and educational services. the learning was processed as questions, observation, and practice. having access to all of these communities gave me more knowledge than any CD-roms could ever give. no one can learn truth from a distance. Consciousness of the turbulent history in Cambodia, of my family, and other communities led me to the struggles against homelessness in the u.s. it was unfamiliar territory to me until i worked at the Pine street inn men’s shelter and read more about urban and rural homelessness across the u.s. for a while, i had seen poverty exclusively from a racial or warfare perspective. in these views, i focused on specific communities by race or immigration history. the shelter was of great interest to me because it did not provide services by race or specific communities though conscious of the fact that many homeless individuals are victims of racism and community histories of trauma. rather, shelter services are offered on whether an individual is sleeping on the streets or in conditions legally considered unsanitary or inhabitable (e.g. abandoned and burnt down homes). 0 • lux • the money issue • fall 006 i lost a sense of urgency because homelessness is slow in pain and suicide. Blood is not spewing profusely everywhere and total chaos in our cities is not complete reality. i wanted to see how the shelter worked, and more importantly, i wanted to see workable solutions. Before working in the shelter (and i think this resonates with most people who are unfamiliar with shelter services), my immediate thought about giving involved donations or volunteering at the “soup kitchen.” it seems to be the most popular contribution people make, and to be honest, it’s convenient. i trusted the shelter, imagining it as a place where most of the employees were idealists and passionate about ending homelessness. erhaps it started like that. Within three months of working as a counselor in the shelter, i listened and felt the defeatist attitudes of co-workers. many of them veterans in the shelter, i listened to their stories of men who have been homeless longer than i have been alive, as well as a long history of corrupt coworkers and administrators. they care a lot for the men we watched day after day, but after hearing the stories, i can understand why they have become so disheartened. Counselor “Jack,” upon my first month at the shelter, pointed out the old-timers at the shelter. he told me about “eddie”: originally from haiti, in the shelter for nearly ten years, diabetic, and a chronic alcoholic. though he had a severe limp, eddie tried with all of his might to protect a counselor who was being severely beaten by another guest. he introduced me to “Joseph,” formerly a bodybuilding champion but now one of the most severe alcoholics at the shelter. he was drunk everyday, sometimes a bit bloody from falling on his face. the blood was the least of what troubled us: he rolled around on our pavement, begged us for help and cried and screamed for his wife and daughter. Jack and i have picked him up several times from this drunken stupor. i’ve tried to offer positive words and encouraged detox, but most of time, i stand silent and ashamed when he grabs me and cries. once, after we laid him down on a mat to rest, Jack pulled me aside and told me that an alcoholic who cries is a bitch. “When i was an alcoholic, i didn’t cry. i kept drinking,” he would add. monetary and food donations came on a weekly basis. the social security checks came first of the month. more funding was decreased or redistributed again, and as the veteran counselors told me, services like detoxification were becoming more difficult to access. We P continue on page  tHe wit’s end café wHeatLey—3rd fLoor stUdent rUn & operated The Best Coffee on Campus! Relax on our sofas or watch the news on our new flat screen television. Check out our new menu selections including fair trade coffee, subs, iced tea and much more! the office of student life Learn more about what’s happening on campus, join a club, become a student leader, or visit one of our student centers! We also offer Student IDs & Lockers!! Discounted Tickets to the NE Aquarium, the Museum of Science, Movies, and other great events! visit the office of student life! Campus Center, 3rd Floor mon-thurs 8:30 - 7:00 Friday 8:30-5:00 fall 006 •the money issue • lux • 1 The Price Of Wheat his past summer i spent the month of august in the country of tanzania in eastern africa. i was immediately struck by the extreme poverty of the country. i had never imagined people living in dung huts and begging for water, an amenity usually taken for granted. the amount of land and labor dedicated to agriculture was also impressive, with fields of corn or coffee as far as i could see. according to the Cia World factbook, agriculture in tanzania employs 0% of the work force and makes up over 0% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product). the extremely low price of food in eastern africa was also a shock. snacks cost only a few cents, a bottle of water cost less than a quarter. restaurants were cheap as well. i had sirloin steak for only three dollars and an all-you-can-eat exotic meat dinner for what a pizza in america would cost. t ay l o r f i f e t subsidies imposed by first world governments, such as the u.s. a study by the international food Policy research institute determined that global gains of $6 billion per year could be achieved if the Doha round of international trade talks succeeded in their plan to cut real tariffs, limit cuts in domestic support payments, eliminate all export subsidies and quota-free access for exports from the poorest countries. the united states and the european union have been adamant in their refusal to accept any free trade deals, specifically because they are unwilling to compromise on the majority of agricultural subsidies. according to the national Center people in tanzania for Policy analysis, farm subsidies alone cost developing countries $ hope and pray for billion every year. allowing these countries to prosper by investment higher prices on food in agriculture would produce better more because they depend farming methods and evenpolicies productivity. our current thwart agricultural development in on the sale of crops these nations. instead of allowing in such a poor country it may free market forces to do their work, seem like a wonderful thing that we undercut third world agriculture food is so inexpensive. it may even seem logical that and then try and make up for it by giving over $0 billow prices allow people to save money. the truth is, lion yearly in foreign aid. Giving out aid not only puts however, the majority of people in tanzania hope and a strain on our federal budget, but also causes further pray for higher prices on food because they depend on dependence in developing countries as we dump amerithe sale of crops. even those who do not directly work can wheat and other crops on the world market. the fields are most likely to work in an agriculturalPoor farmers in africa are not the only people to sufrelated industry. higher cost of food would give the fer because of u.s. agricultural subsidies. the everyday country of tanzania more cash for every crop exported american citizen also suffers with higher food prices and subsequently more money for the poor tanzania because of trade barriers and subsidies distort markets. farmers. federal tax dollars go to waste giving wealthy farmers some of the major obstacles for poor african export- huge cash payouts. ing farmers include trade barriers and distortionary farm subsidies were originally instituted during the  • lux • the money issue • fall 006 Great Depression to provide a safety like tom Daschle (sD) and farm state republicans to net for poor family farmers. since play along, concessions had to be made. Cash paythen, farming has become dominated ments conveniently made their way into the program. more and more by large corporaWhen farm prices fell two years later, a republican tions and wealthy land owners. the congress knew where their votes would be coming Department of agriculture subsidizfrom. instead of following the plan to do away with the es to protect against low prices, even subsidies, they expanded them. if the farmer is selling his crops at By giving farmers money that cannot be earned in the market, agricultural subsidiaries boost an industry that a large profit. “emergency disaster payments” are also given out, while is unproductive. Without subsidies and barriers, much farmers receive subsidized insurance for failed crops. of the farming in the united states would have to take roughly half of the $ billion given out by the Deplace over seas in order to be profitable. unproductive farmers in the united states would have to be re-trained partment of agriculture last year was paid in the form of cash payments given simply and enter more productive secfor owning farm land. there are tors of the economy. as unforPoor farmers in no requirements to farm any spetunate as that is for american cific crop, or even to farm at all. farmers, it would mean huge Africa are not the only simply owning land once used gains for the vast majority of for farming is enough to receive people to suffer because of americans and to the world. cash payments from the governmy grandfather is a rancher ment. farmers can essentially in southern idaho, so i have u.s. agricultural subsidies. leave their fields fallow and still heard many arguments supreceive money for not working. porting farm subsidies. the the everyday American even if the land falls into the most common argument is hands of non-farmers, land-ownthat “every person in america citizen also suffers with ers still receive a check. in fact, ought to be able to work a higher food prices the Washington Post reported piece of land and survive off of it,” which, in my opinion, that since 000, at least $1. billion has been paid to people who is much more idealistic than do no farming at all. this, of course, goes disproporpractical. others argue that farms add to the aesthetic tionately to rich landowners. for instance, a houston beauty of the West and therefore the government should surgeon received nearly half a million dollars because provide funding. however, it is doubtful that the american public favors viewing farms over the natural landof his property holdings. in texas and arizona, developers advertise that new homeowners can collect farm scape. the fact of the matter is that land-owners have subsidies on their new backyards. no more right to government help than any other indusWith an outrageous federal deficit that continues to try in the country. worsen, it seems odd that Congress places such a high Considering the only priority on giving billions of dollars to those who obvipeople who support ously do not need it. the $ billion given in 00 was agricultural subsidies nearly 0% more than what was paid to families receiv- are the land-owners ing welfare. in the last decade, $1 billion worth of and farmers receiving tax payer dollars has gone to farm subsidies. government checks, Congressman Barney frank (D-ma) has been a and the politicians strong opponent of farm subsidies, accusing republithat represent them, cans who support these government handouts of hypoc- it is a wonder that risy. a number of congressmen oppose the “republican this policy endures. What is apparent is that politiWelfare” (as my father calls it) of farm subsidies, but cians have nothing to gain by fighting against subsidies. they remain a minority. unfortunately, as the senate rather, they can potentially win voters by supporting continues to disproportionately favor small farming their cause. Despite the fact that right-wing economists, states, it is unlikely that any reduction in farm subsidies liberal environmentalists, libertarians, philanthropists, will occur in the near future. and everyone in between criticize farm subsidies, it Despite the stereotypes of republicans as supporters is unlikely that any progress will be made in the near of farm subsidies, Democrats are just as guilty. When future. i could write a letter to my senator, complaining republican leaders decided to embrace the ideals of the about the farm subsidy policy, but i may have better free market in 16 they created a plan to wean farmers results asking for subsidies on jujitsu workouts or band off of subsidies. in order to get wheat state Democrats practice. fall 006 •the money issue • lux •  how to create more money in your life B e n ya m i n l i C h t e n s t e i n , p h . d . management hen i was in college i often found myself low on cash. sometimes really low. even in my mid-twenties i remember uncomfortable choices i had to make because i simply didn’t have enough money to make it through the month. then i learned a simple process that generated more cash than i ever thought possible. i started to balance my checkbook, by tracking my spending and matching it to the money in my bank account. this forced me to be honest about how much money i actually have and compare it to how much i am spending. how does this process create more money? an economist will say that money is a medium of exchange. But from a dynamic systems perspective, money is a resource – a unique kind of energy potential – and the amount of that resource we can have access to is in part a function of our capacity to manage the flow of that energy. recent social science research has found that perhaps the most important criteria for increasing one’s capacity to manage money is integrity. that is, the more integrity people have with their money, all other things being equal, the more likely they will be able to gain access to more money. this is basic principle of money and it has sure been a huge part of my own success. after balancing my checkbook for several years and often finding i had much more money there than i expected, i began to use Quicken to track my expenses. Why? Because a second principle driving the energy flow of money is value: the resources we spend represent what we value in our lives. in the same way that we “pay” attention to things that matter to us, we spend our money on the things that we care about and on the activities and organizations that support us and are important to us. this principle of money asserts that the more congruent my spending is to the qualities i most value, the more sustainable and satisfied i will be around money.  • lux • the money issue • fall 006 W money is a resource, a unique kind of energy potential, and the amount of that resource we can have access to is in part a function of our capacity to manage the flow of that energy Quicken forces you to categorize every transaction, which itself requires that you create (and commit to) a limited set of categories that define where your money goes to – and what your priorities are. Quicken also allows you to budget a specific amount for each category, so that at the end of the month, after you balance your checkbook you can run a report that tells you how close you are to each budgeted category, and how close you are to your overall budget goals. in the years that my wife and i have been using Quicken, our spending habits have been remarkably well controlled, even as our financial situation has changed several times. We have been able to stay within our budget month after month, and when we’re spending too much, we’re able to identify exactly why and make solid plans for changing those habits. this process has made me very conscious about the money i spend; virtually nothing i purchase is taken for granted any more. i can cite many examples of how this budgeting process has really benefited me and my family. one example involved our food budget, which had slowly ballooned to well beyond our financial goals. a couple of good discussions resulted in a shared commitment to designing weekly menus, planning our shopping trips, and being more careful about extravagances. in exchange we joined an organic farm (Community supported agriculture), and have been able to afford more organic food, while trimming our overall food budget by nearly 0%. finally, as an added benefit, taxes are painless these days; we mailed in our reports to the accountant near the beginning of february this year. these two principles – integrity and value – are not meant to be held as untested “beliefs;” instead, if you’re interested, try them and see what happens. at the very least you’ll gain a stronger relationship with your finances, which is not a bad result. Perhaps after balancing your checkbook and using Quicken for your personal finances you, like me, will find yourself with more money than you thought you had! the business of UMB UndergradUate is a BUdding arts mass Boston undergraduate student shea mullaney stands in the new author area of the Campus Bookstore. he looks slightly nervous as he prepares to read from his first published collection of poetry, Follow the Wolf Moon. “i’ve read from the book all around Boston, in seattle, and i’ve got readings scheduled in Western mass and new york, but this is the one i’m most nervous about,” mullaney notes. “home court performance anxiety,” he adds with a smile. mullaney became a published author at the age of , after sharing his manuscript with a small start-up publisher in Colorado, mJs Publishing Group. “i worked on many of the poems in the book here at umB, in fact, the book is the reason i’m here.” retired umass Boston Professor of english alan helms read follow the Wolf moon and suggested that mullaney come to umB to work with Creative Writing professors and working poets lloyd schwartz and Joyce Peseroff. “as i approach 0, i wanted to change my life so that i could live on my own terms, living my dream. i decided that i could no longer live a life of mind-numbing corporate repetition; i wanted to make a living completely by the arts.” Poetry isn’t exactly a path to get rich, but mullaney finds it rewarding. “someone once told me that the only poet alive in america making any money is Billy Collins.” mullaney has made some money up front, but most of what he’ll make from Wolf Moon will come in the form of traditional royalties, once the press breaks even. “it’s not about the money, really, it’s about seeing that people are engaged with me when i read at poetry: u entrepreneUr a store or event. it’s the laughs, or the ‘hmms’, or the ‘i’ve had that experience, but you’ve put it into words’ that keeps me going.” mullaney’s no stranger to entrepreneurship. his parents have run their own communications agency since he was a toddler, and during the end of the .com, mullaney co-founded and ran a technical consultancy for four years. “Poetry and publishing is a whole different racket, but i get to use many of the skills i’ve acquired. i will say that getting stores to carry your book when you’re a newcomer with an unknown regional press is tough. i definitely have to hustle.” like many working artists, sales of his work isn’t all that mullaney relies on for income. in addition to being a full-time double major, he also co-manages umass Boston’s literary and arts journal, the Watermark, and serves as associate arts editor for the mass media. he’s also currently working on his second collection, crafting lyrics for a musical collaboration with local singer-songwriter Keith hampton, a benefit CD for victims of hurricane Katrina, and a creative writing workshop for a domestic violence shelter in roxbury. “i keep myself busy,” mullaney laughs, “really, i’m hoping to stay in school forever... finish my Bachelor’s, get my mfa, find a nice teaching job somewhere, and just keep writing.” Follow the Wolf Moon is available locally from Grolier’s Poetry Book shop and Porter square Books in Cambridge, amazon.com, and from his publisher mJs Publishing Group, www.mjspub.com/wolfmoon/. Copies are also available from the umass Boston Bookstore. fall 006 •the money issue • lux •  eVerythinG you neeD to KnoW aBout teresa JarDin Senior ASSociAte Director FinAnciAl AiD ServiceS finanCial aiD vary), students who report living with parents vs. those who report they will be living away from their parents (costs vary). financial aid services then applies standard packaging formulas to each student, according to each student’s application materials. hen students complete the free application for federal student aid, they are applying for all types of aid available through financial aid services at the university of massachusetts Boston. this includes the federal Pell Grant, federal smart Grant, federal academic Competitiveness Grant, federal supplemental educational opportunity Grant, federal Work study, federal Perkins loan, federal Direct subsidized loan, federal Direct unsubsidized loan, massachusetts state Grant, massachusetts Part time Grant, massachusetts no interest loan, need Based tuition Waiver, state access Grant, and the university fee Grant. each type of aid has specific eligibility criteria that determine whether a particular student is eligible. When a student is packaged at umass Boston, each student is considered for every type of aid for which the student meets the criteria. other departments on campus also administer programs that provide funding for higher education and are colloquially referred to as “financial aid programs.” these other programs include scholarships offered through the office of merit Based scholarships, Graduate assistantships (which include tuition and / or fee waivers), departmental scholarships, and the Gaann program (Graduate assistance in areas of national need). When financial aid services receives the fafsa information and the efC,they assign each student a standard budget based upon the information in the application in combination with the student’s academic information on file with admissions and / or the registrar. there are many variations to the budgeting process, as there are a variety of enrollment trends and cost differences associated with specific groups of students. examples are instate vs. out of state vs. new england regional students (tuition and fees vary), undergraduate vs. graduate students (tuition and fees 6 • lux • the money issue • fall 006 W eliGiBility in order to qualify for financial aid (administered by financial aid services), each student must meet these federal, state, and institutional requirements. • • • • • • • • • • file a free application for federal student aid. have a valid social security number. Be a u.s. citizen or an eligible non-citizen. register with selective service, if required. have a high school diploma or a GeD. Be accepted and enrolled in a degree program or eligible certificate program. maintain satisfactory academic Progress. owe no refund on any federal or state educational grant nor be in default on any previous educational loan. submit all of the required documents to the appropriate agency or institution. meet the drug conviction eligibility requirements. reQuirements most forms of aid administered by financial aid services require to the student to have need, which is defined as the Cost of attendance (budget) less the expected family Contribution (efC). if the number is positive, the student is said to have need. While the federal Direct unsubsizied loan, the federal Plus loan, and alternative loans do not require the student to have need, each tyPes of aiD student’s total aid from all sources cannot exceed the student’s cost of attendance (budget). some funds require the student to be working on a first undergraduate degree. the Federal Perkins Loan, the Federal Direct Subsidized Loan, and the federal Direct unsubsidized loan maximum awards vary depending on whether the student is undergraduate or graduate. in addition, the federal Direct subsidized and federal Direct unsubsidized loans amounts vary depending on the number of credits an undergraduate student has completed. all state financial aid (massachusetts state Grant, massachusetts Part time Grant, massachusetts no interest loan, state access Grant, and need Based tuition Waiver) all require the student to meet the state residency criteria. the Federal Pell Grant is restricted to undergraduate students who have not earned a baccalaureate degree. you do not repay this grant. the amount awarded is based on two criteria: the credits for which you are enrolled at the end of each semester’s add/drop period, and the expected family Contribution (efC) on your student aid report (sar). you must be enrolled for a minimum of three () credits or credit equivalencies to be eligible for a federal Pell Grant. the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (fseoG) is restricted to undergraduate students who have not earned a baccalaureate degree. you do not repay this grant. you must be enrolled for a minimum of three () credits or credit equivalencies to be eligible for a fseoG. Pell Grant recipients are given priority for fseoG awards. the Massachusetts State Grant (msG) is available to undergraduate students who have not earned a baccalaureate degree. you do not repay this grant. eligibility is determined by the massachusetts office of student financial assistance (osfa). you must complete your fafsa by may 1, 00 and have an eligible efC, be enrolled full-time (at least 1 credits or credit equivalencies) and be a resident of massachusetts for one year prior to the start of the academic year (if you are dependent, your parent(s) must also reside in massachusetts for one year prior to the start of the academic year). the office of student financial assistance also administers the Performance Bonus, Part-time Grant, and no interest loan Programs. to review your status and/or learn more about osfa, visit their web site at www.osfa.mass.edu. the Massachusetts Part Time Grant (PTG) is available to undergraduate students who have not earned a baccalaureate degree. you do not repay this grant. you must complete your fafsa by may 1, 00, have an eligible efC and be enrolled for at least six (6) credits or credit equivalencies and meet the same eligibility requirements for the mass state Grant. the State Access Grant (saG) is available to undergraduate students who have not earned a baccalaureate degree. saG is a grant, which does not require repayment. eligibility is based on financial need determined by financial aid services. you must be enrolled for a minimum of three () credits or credit equivalencies each semester to be eligible for a saG. saG funds cannot be used for courses taken at another institution. the University Fee Grant (fee Grant) is available to undergraduate and graduate students. it may not exceed the education operations fee charged by the Bursar’ office. you must enroll for a minimum of three () credits or credit equivalencies each semester to be eligible for a fee Grant. you do not repay this grant. the need-Based tuition Waiver (nBtW) is similar to a grant, since repayment is not required. for undergraduate massachusetts residents only, nBtW can only be used to waive tuition. eligibility is based on financial need determined by financial aid services. you must be enrolled for a minimum of three () credit hours or credit equivalencies each semester. nBtW funds cannot be used for second degrees, Continuing education charges, or courses taken at other institutions. the Federal Direct Subsidized Loan is available to both undergraduate and graduate students, including students seeking an additional baccalaureate degree. like all loans, this loan requires repayment. you must enroll for at least six (6) credits or credit equivalencies each semester to be eligible for this program. [effective July 1, 006, the interest rate on federal Direct loans is now fixed at 6.%.] eligibility is based on grade fall 006 •the money issue • lux •  level and financial need, determined by the efC on your sar. During periods of enrollment of at least six credit hours or periods of deferment, the federal government pays the interest on the federal Direct subsidized loan. the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan is identical to the Direct subsidized loan except the government does not pay interest and it is not based on financial need. the interest rate on federal Direct loans is fixed at 6.%. We strongly recommend you pay the interest while you are in school. additional information on the Direct loan Program is available here. the Federal Perkins Loan is a low interest loan (currently %) awarded to both undergraduate and graduate students. you must be enrolled for a minimum of 6 credits or credit equivalencies each semester to be eligible for this program. you must sign a Perkins master Promissory note and successfully pass a federally mandated Perkins entrance Counseling session. the Massachusetts No Interest Loan (nil) is awarded to undergraduate students, is based on financial need and uses the same residency criteria as the massachusetts Grant Program. the Federal Work-Study (fWs) Program is limited to undergraduate and graduate students including students who are seeking a second baccalaureate degree. fWs funds are awarded to students enrolled for any number of credits or credit equivalencies, provided there is financial need and sufficient funding available. earnings are paid directly to the student. Positions are located on campus and off-campus with local, contracted, non-profit agencies. a particular emphasis on community service opportunities exists within the fWs program. if you are eligible, you are encouraged to take advantage of these opportunities. financial aid services regularly updates their web site to reflect upcoming due dates. the us Department of education sends emails to students who have applied for aid the prior year to alert them about the availability of the upcoming year’s application form. in addition, we send emails to students who have applied for aid in the past as a reminder to reapply for aid. the due dates have not changed in many years; financial aid services recommends that all students apply for aid Before may 1 preceeding each academic year. We use this date for two reasons: the first is that all students and families who are required to have completed a tax return should have it completed prior to this date; the second reason is that this is the cut off date the state of massachusetts uses for many of the state aid programs. in addition, it also allows ample time for the review of the  • lux • the money issue • fall 006 application form and supporting documentation and processing of a financial aid award notification letter prior to the first student billing in late July. summer school financial aid is processed as a trailer to the preceeding academic year. that is, aid for summer 00 will be based on eligibility for aid for the 006-00 academic year. students must have been enrolled and eligible for aid for spring 00 to be eligible for aid for summer 00. aid for summer school is extremely limited. EVERYONE UMass Boston: FINANCIAL AID SITES SHOULD KNOW AbOuT: http://www.umb.edu/students/financial_aid/in dex.html General Financial Aid Information: www.finaid.org To Apply For Aid Each Year: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ US Department of Education site for Financial Aid professionals: www.ifap.ed.gov US Department of Education site for students: http://studentaid.ed.gov www.dlssonline.com Perkins Loan: http://www.fc.campusoncall.com/cgi-bin/home. continued from page 0 needed more money, not because money directly makes or breaks the guests, but because it brings in more staff. the reality is that in the way our society is structured, dedication to “goodwill” has to be bought. since funding is limited, there is only so much goodwill the government can purchase. in the case of the men’s shelter at the Pine street inn, they’ve been able to “purchase” roughly one counselor for every fourteen guests to spend eight hours per day together. if we accept that being a single mother with eight children is an impossible job, requiring twenty-four hour care and awareness-what makes this institution think that one counselor can help fourteen volatile guests who are extremely diverse in their needs and desires? seeing the guests everyday, i lost a sense of urgency because homelessness is slow in pain and suicide. Blood is not spewing profusely everywhere and total chaos in our cities is not complete reality. Government expenditures routinely promise them a social security check and at the shelter, we still have ham and cheese sandwiches to distribute. i have loved ones to go home to and i am still watching the latest movies with my girlfriend on weekends. Walk in the shelter and walk out: i can alternate my life within seconds. it not like what my parents had to go through. But i think urgency is what we need for every social justice issue, whether it is a war that started five years ago, or a war that has been going on for centuries. the urgency Cambodians felt during our genocide pushed us into a time and place where humans have the bare minimum and find that the only thing left is ourselves. they feel the wrath of dictatorship and the destruction of civil liberties, and they create kinship – something that can be created in any condition. they were giving not because it’s gratifying, but because it determines survival. in a time where ruthless slaughter is daily and volatile, our instinct as humans to share and come together flourishes. every man, woman, and child in the shelters of Boston needs every citizen of the city. they need our patience, dedication, and talents. our responsibilities should be distributed among each other and constantly active just as it was for Cambodian refugees. homeless, impoverished, and disenfranchised people in the u.s. are, sadly, refugees in their own country. Charles Chear, (class of ’05, sociology) currently works at the shattuck shelter iMpaCt program as an Employment Counselor. Formerly full-time, he now works at the pine street inn men’s shelter on a relief basis. He is also the outreach Coordinator for the one World Foundation, a newly founded human rights exchange program for young people of color. for more info: www.friendsoftheshattuckshelter.org, www.pinestreetinn.org, www.theoneworldfoundation.org, & www.socialcapitalgateway.org PayinG JoBs in hiGhest the u.s. toP PayinG JoBs oVerall Physicians and surgeons: $1,000 aircraft pilots: $1,00 Chief executives: $116,000 electrical and electronic engineers: $11,000 lawyers and judges: $,00 Dentists: $0,000 Pharmacists: $,00 management analysts: $,00 Computer and information system managers: $,000 • financial analysts, managers and advisors: $,000 • marketing and sales managers: $0,000 • education administrators: $0,000 • • • • • • • • • toP PayinG JoBs that Do not reQuire a hiGh sChool DeGree • industrial production managers: $6,000 • Bailiffs, correctional officers and jailers: $6,00 • legal assistants: $6,00 • Drafters: $6,000 • Construction manager: $,600 • electricians: $1,00 toP PayinG JoBs for hiGh sChool GraDuates • Computer software engineers: $,00 • Computer/information systems managers: $6,00 • Computer programmers: $,000 • network systems and data communications analysts: $,000 • General and operations managers: $,000 • Database, network and computer systems administrators: $,000 toP PayinG JoBs for a tWo-year ColleGe DeGree • health care practitioners: $66,000 • Business analysts: $,000 • electrical and electronic engineers: $,000 • mechanical engineers: $6,00 • General and operations managers: $,000 • Computer and information systems managers: $0,00 CareerBuilDer.Com fall 006 •the money issue • lux •  UX