4a
Opinion
Thursday, October 19,2000
For comments, contact Ben Embry or Emily Hughey at 864-4924 or e-mail opinion@kansan.com
Perspective
Invest early, retire rich and be happy
By the headline, you might suspect this column would be long, complex and require so much space that the worthy Free for All section be postponed today. But it's not. The simple fact is that the United States is enjoying unparalleled prosperity that presents more opportunities than our forefathers could have imagined. Today, it is possible for the average college graduate to realize phenomenal financial success.
When you graduate, you can plan on retiring with more than $1 million. Time and compounding interest make this millionaire mission possible. As a young adult, the recent college grad has
more time than older investors to reap the benefits of compounding interest. Sooner, not later, is the time to think about retirement, especially because our generation probably will live longer and require more retirement savings.
Three recent KU grads — Sarah, Gina and Matt — each invest part of their paychecks in a Roth
Scott Kaiser columnist opinionkansan.com
Individual Retirement Account, Sarah will retire at age 65 with $1 million if she invests $2,000 each year for a mere six years from age 23 to 28. Her Roth IRA allows her money to grow tax-free and escape taxes when she withdraws at 65. Assuming a 12 percent rate of return
65. Assuming a 12 percent rate of return — which historical data suggests is a reliable long-term rate of return Sarah probably will retire at 65 with $1,075,000.
Gina copies Sarah's plan, except she starts 10 years later, thinking that the $2000 will be easier to part with then. When she retires at 65, she won't even have $350,000. Gina's 10-year delay will cost her over $700,000.
Matt takes a different approach. He sees Gina's results and decides that Gina should have invested longer than six years. Matt invests $2000 each year for 32 years from age 33 to 64; he will retire with less than $700,000.
From these examples, it is clear that the early years are critical. Sarah, through six years of investing, has raised more than Gina and Matt combined, through their 38 years of combined investing.
If you miss the opportunity to invest, you'll never get it back. Many recent grads fail to set aside part of their paychecks for saving or investment. They spend their entire paychecks on new cars and luxuries, saving nothing. They squander their paychecks. This is why many people never realize this Millionaire mission.
They start too late or not at all.
Perhaps they count on Social Security, a
gamble our generation cannot rely on.
One need not be born with money to retire comfortably. The bottom line is that you must first discipline yourself and save, then learn to invest. History has shown us that within investment horizons of 20 years or more, stocks will always outperform bonds and CDs, usually by huge margins. As an investor in stocks, you are being compensated as a part owner of a company.
Average stock returns have historically been three to four percent higher than average bond returns. One reason for this is that stockholders are compensated for the extra risk they take on. In the short term, stockholders must endure more price fluctuations. In the long term, with diversification, these risks vanish. Therefore, long-term stockholders are compensated for risk they do not have to endure.
Get a job, save, invest early and be rich.
Kaiser is a first-year law student from Overland Park.
TMS CAMPUS
Kansan report card
Pass:
- Tuesday night's presidential debates. Bush and Gore finally decided to spice things up by disagreeing.
The football team. Kansas players rallied to a 38-17 victory over Missouri Saturday. Cheers to the KU for ruining Mizzou's Homecoming.
The University's chemistry department. The department's female faculty ratio ranks second in the nation. More than 20 percent of the faculty is female.
- Phi Beta Delta, the honor society for international students. The University's chapter was ranked No. 1 in the world out of 120 chapters. Right here at KU.
Fail:
Templin Hall car burglaries. Five cars were burglarized Friday Oct. 13. Maybe they should make blue phones for cars.
Students who intoxicate their pets.
What? Save some for yourselves.
Letters to the Editor Columnist offers skewed view of Green Party initiatives
First of all, the KU Green Party has never protested students gathering to watch the debates, as Andrew Marino asserts ("Green Party gets preachy on the stump," Friday). We did, however, set up an information table at the Union during the first debate. Most people can discern the difference between passing out information to interested students and protesting their choice to watch the debates. Because this was lost on at least one person, though, I am happy to clarify it. We would have had to protest ourselves as well, given that most of the KU Greens watched the debate along with everyone else.
Secondly, Marino offers as an example of Green powerlessness the image of a "Naderite" in his political science course being ignored when she attempted to offer her opinion. This illustration proves nothing in terms of what kind of impact Green ideas have upon the world. What it does prove is that there exists in Marino's political science course — and probably others — a strong bipartisan bias that stifles alternative viewpoints. Thank you for bringing this problem to light, Mr. Marino.
If the Greens are hungry for anything, it is justice — not control over their fellow citizens' lives. We question why there is still no universal health care in this country, why our environment is being sacrificed daily, why politicians are allowed to take massive amounts of money from corporations, why serious development of alternative energies is absent, why nine million children in this country live in poverty, why we can't have a minimum wage that matches the cost of living, why human rights in other countries are ignored and American jobs are exported under the auspices of NAFTA and the WTO, and most of all, why none of this is being solved by the two major parties. It's something to think about when Nov. 7 rolls around.
I write in response to your editorial "Regulations will inhibit researchers" (Monday). In it, you take issue with the fact that every campus researcher involved in a project is now required to view a presentation about the foundations of human subjects protections.
Editorial overlooks importance of campus research requirement
Sarah Hoskinson Burton junior
"This is a waste of researchers' time." Ben Tatar writes.
I would contend it is not a waste. I would contend that learning about the foundations of human subjects' protection is an important part of the acculturation of all researchers so that they are sensitive to the rights and issues involved.
Should you ever be a subject in an experiment, I think you'd want to know that the experimenter shares a common set of standards and understandings with colleagues campuswide about what is and is not ethical.
Beyond the protection of subjects, I think that learning about some of the more egregious failures to protect human research subjects can lead to more thoughtful design and implementation of research projects.
your editorial states, "The Advisory Committee on Human Experimentation must now approve every project on campus." That's not new, and it's not news; the committee has been responsible for approving all KU human subjects research for more than 20 years.
What is new is the tutorial requirement. Please test it out at www.research.ukans.edu/tutor. Most of the 160 pages contain a few easy-to-understand sentences. Those who take it may quit at any time and return to their original place to resume.
Because the University receives federal funds, we have to review and approve human subjects research. But more than law is involved. We have a duty to teach students, faculty and staff about the rights of human research subjects and the responsibilities that researchers have to them.
Past education has involved classroom visits and meetings with department faculty and chairs. This mode of education is still offered to both students and faculty. Visits between and among us are a benefit not only to the researchers. They also help educate me about problems the researchers face.
Dialogue is important to knowing the rights of research participants and to understanding the difficulties faced by those who wish to conduct such research, and that's why I'm writing in response to the editorial board of the Kansan.
David Hamm Coordinator, Advisory Committee on Human Experimentation
David Hann
Editorial
Vote wisely; learn about the issues
Before casting ballots, students need to know where candidates stand.
To vote wisely in the upcoming election, voters should know where the candidates stand on important issues. Students should take it upon themselves to learn about each candidate.
Knowing which candidates want to make abortion illegal or propose a National Tuition Savings Program for higher education could mean a difference in your vote. Getting this information means doing some research before heading to the polls.
Promises made by candidates at press conferences or during debates are helpful, but a responsible voter will look for more information. Where do the candidates stand on issues of funding for higher education? How will their views affect the economy and the job market? The most important question is how their views on certain issues will affect you.
Most cringe at the thought of researching anything apart from homework, but electing a candidate that does not match your ideals is far worse. Researching for a 30-page paper may be more difficult than finding information about a candidate. The information about the issues is at the tip of your fingers. By surfing the Internet, watching television or chatting on the phone with friends, there are ample opportunities to find out about candidates
When you check your e-mail, take a moment to look at www.msnbc.com. This site provides updated daily information about candidates. If you're flipping channels for a good television show, linger a while on CNN, a station with "round the clock coverage" on campaign news. You can find information by phone at 1-888-VOTE-SMART where you can ask any question about candidates running for president, governor, House and Senate seats.
Sense seats. Above all, U.S. citizens should vote in the upcoming election, and those voters should know what they are voting for when they go to the polls. Get to know the candidates' issues before Nov. 7.
Erica Hawthorne for the editorial board
free all for 864-0500 864-0500
Free for all callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Slanderous statements will not be printed. To read more, go to www.kansan.com.
--congrats to the KU football team for their performance.
I would vote for Nader because his name would be fun to yell out when you're drunk.
congrats to the KU football team for their performance.
Any woman can fake an orgasm. It takes a real man to fake a relationship.
congrats to the KU football team for their performance.
Why do fast-food places get so upset when people pay with change? Quarters are money.
--congrats to the KU football team for their performance.
I would support the death penalty if it were executed fairly.
congrats to the KU football team for their performance.
The bikers need to pay attention to the traffic if they want to be a part of traffic.
Is anyone else sick of Al Gore breaking all of the rules during the debates? You can bet that if he's elected, he'll be breaking all the rules of the presidency.
--congrats to the KU football team for their performance.
What's with the soap in Wescoe? I feel like I'm chalking up for a gymnastics meet.
--congrats to the KU football team for their performance.
congrats to the KU football team for their performance.
I refuse to vote for anyone who cannot pronounce the word subliminal.
Everyone should embrace their inner dork.
congrats to the KU football team for their performance.
Is it sexual harassment if I touch myself?
congrats to the KU football team for their performance.
congrats to the KU football team for their performance.
I'm against quotas. They're against the American people.
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What's the purpose of time tables if they list courses you can't take and don't list the classes you can take?
Journalism advising sucks! I stood in line for two hours for advising.
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I'd like to hear a sorority girl for once say something other than "you look cute today."
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God help us if Bush is elected president.
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All letters and guest columns should be e-mailed to opinion@kansan.com or submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Ben Embry or Emily Hughey at 864-4924.
If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4924.
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