San Diego

Investment Journal
Fall  Quarter  2009               UC  San  Diego’s  Source  for  Business  Journalism
WHAT CAN THE ISRAELI LOCKSMITH SCHEME
TEACH PROSPECTIVE YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS?
BY ZACHARY POWERS
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
First and foremost,
let me say that I believe one
of the easiest ways to strike
it rich is do something above
the technological curve yet
relative to everyday people.
Two weeks ago, my
friend that is serving in the
Navy, calls me as he has re-
turned from his deployment
in Southeast Asia. Prior to
his deployment, I left some
of my belongings in his stor-
age unit. By the time he re-
turned to the States, we both
managed to lose our keys
to the storage unit. Thus,
we needed a locksmith.
Luckily, my good
friend Jason owns a lock-
smith company, which oper-
ates throughout the United
States in seven cities. I call
him and ask if he would pick
or drill out this storage unit’s
lock. Upon arriving at the
storage unit, he tells me that
he cannot pick or drill out the
lock because the storage unit
has a circular lock and these
locks are so rare that he does
not know how to open it.
After hearing this,
my friend in the Navy does
what many young people
ZRXOGGRWRÀQGDORFNVPLWK
use Google Maps on his
L3KRQH WR ÀQG D ORFNVPLWK
(company) in the area. When
my Navy friend calls the
THE IMPORTANCE IN
CREDIT FOR
PROSPECTIVE YOUNG
locksmith, Jason demands the circular lock. Jason also The locksmith calls
HOMEOWNERS
that the locksmith gives us an tells us that about the “Israeli and says he is around the BY TYLER BANTA
“exact quote.” We tell him locksmith scheme.” He ex- corner. Jason tells us he will SENIOR STAFF WRITER
the locksmith we have a cir- plains to us there how these probably come in an every-
Recently my par-
cular lock, but the locksmith ,VUDHOLFRQPHQPDÀDSHRSOH day car rather than a special-
ents bought property in the
on the phone is very hesitant are taking over the locksmith ized locksmith van. My Navy
3DFLÀF %HDFK QHLJKERUKRRG
to give an exact quote. Jason industry. Jason continues to friend and I laugh again. A
San Diego as an investment.
takes the phone and tells him unravel the corruption of how few moments later a man
The plan was to have me and
that the locksmith does not these locksmiths have ex- in his twenties pulls up in a
roommates live there dur-
know how to pick a circular panded from the East Coast mid-90’s SUV. He jumps out
ing the school year and use
of the car with nothing but a it in the summer as a vaca-
drill with one bit. As we’re tion house for the family so
talking in the elevator to go we could tour San Diego.
to the storage unit, Jason asks Everything on the purchase
the man where he is from. went smoothly. Just before
The man replies he was born the purchase, the family tax
in France. Jason says that he accountant recommended
thought he might have been something to my father and
from Israel, to which the man me while he was putting to-
replies that he’s lived there gether our tax returns. My
for a few years. My Navy Dad mentioned the new buy-
buddy and I look at each oth- ing of property in San Diego
er in disbelief. Upon arriving and the accountant informed
at the storage unit, the lock- XV RI D JUHDW RSSRUWXQLW\ LI
smith says that he can drill it I was put on the purchasing
out. He takes out a contract loan, we could get a $8,000
for my friend to sign. The tax return. Additionally, my
price on the contract is $100. credit would skyrocket. At
Remember, he quoted the job a young age, this would be a
for $75-$85 on the phone. huge advantage in looking to
EACH DOT ON THIS MAP REPRESENTS A SUPPOSIVE LOCKSMITH BUSINESS IN SAN DIEGO
Jason asks why the price has buy a house in the future or
been increased. The lock- making other big purchases.
lock and all he needs to do is to West Coast under differ- smith says “service charg- We went to the bank the next
to drill it out. Eventually, the ent DBA company names. es.” What service charges? week to try to put this plan
locksmith quotes $75-$85. My Navy friend and I laugh The whole process is a ser- into effect. Then the bank
We agree and the locksmith at the absurdity of the story. vice! What is he being paid QRWLÀHG XV WKDW , FRXOG QRW
is on his way to our loca- Jason even accounts for how for? We make him leave. be placed on the purchasing
tion. Waiting in the back of these locksmiths have been After the man leaves, loan. There were two rea-
Jason’s truck for the lock- known to trick people into Jason calls a locksmith he sons.
smith to come, Jason tells us paying $500 for a simple knows from previously who First off, I didn’t
how he is excited to see how house lock, which would have an adequate income
the locksmith will drill out normally cost around $40. SEE LOCKSMITH, PAGE 2 for the bank to approve me
as the principle borrower

INSPIRATION FOR GRADUATING SENIORS

BY YOUSEF BENHAMIDA do with myself?” After es- sole proprietor papers of a don’t feel like your mak- My father and sister took
for the loan. My family has
worked around this before.

UC SAN DIEGO SENIOR a similar approach to buy-

tablishing the fact that yes, McDonald’s. The average ing enough after one, then
ing a house in the Bay Area.
How can I get more you would like to see the McDonald’s brings in over start another one. Remem-
My sister was put on the
money? How can I get more JUHHQEDFNVÁRZLQWKURXJK a Million dollars in sales ber, if you do not expand, purchase as the principle
experience? How can I be WKH ÀHOG RI EXVLQHVV WKHQ per year, and guess what, then you only can die. My buyer, and therefore she es-
successfully and plop my- you must tell the universe RYHUKDOIRIWKDWLVSURÀW, point here is, if you want to tablished good credit at a
self in the business world and yourself that this is knew this one McDonald’s become a millionaire, and young age. My father just
and become what my par- what you would like to do. that was bringing in about want to pursue this dream paid everything off under
ents would like to see. First, Write it down. Be very $10,000 a day and the costs in the business world, de- her name. That situation oc-
you must ask yourself if clear what you want. If you were only a third of the rev- clare what you would like curred about eight years ago.
this is what you would like want to reap the millions by HQXH 7KH SURÀW PDUJLQ LV to have, and believe you Loan protocol, along with
to see. After asking your- going into franchising, then so high, that the royalty fees
self, “Is this what I want to picture your name over the do not even matter. If you SEE INSPIRATION, PAGE 7 SEE CREDIT, PAGE 4

THIS ISSUE’S BIZ...

ISRAELI LOCKSMITH SCHEME............PAGE 1 CAMPUS CLUB TRANSFORMS TO BUSINESS......PAGE 3 LONG-TIME LOSSES FROM TUITION HIKE................PAGE 5
INSPIRATION FOR SOON-GRADUATES...PAGE 1 SOCIAL NETWORKING....................................PAGE 3 ECONOMIC APPROACH FOR PUBLIC HEALTH CARE....PAGE 7
STUDENT CREDIT..............................PAGE 1 CAP & TAX “INSANITY”................................PAGE 4 STUDENT ORG TO BUSINESS & CROSSWORD.............PAGE 8
 PAGE TWO SAN DIEGO INVESTMENT JOURNAL FALL QUARTER 2009
WRROV DQG KDOI RI WKH SURÀWV nology without the sys-

SAN DIEGO
LOCKSMITH - from page 1 go to the company’s owner. tem catching up.
quotes for $40. Upon ar- The 60-year-old man charg- Most UCSD stu-
riving, he does not want to ing $40 made probably about dents probably would not
charge my friend any “ser- $15 for coming to drill our consider (what used to be)

INVESTMENT
vice charges.” He has a van lock for an hour-and-half of Napster to be an malicious
FULL of drills, bits, picks, work. He would make about company. Napster illegally
keys, locks, and other sup- the same amount compen- gave out millions in dol-
plies. The man is around sation working at In-N-Out lars of music and before the
60 years old. Everything Burger (after free food, paid
J O U R N A L
court shut the website down.
goes quickly and smoothly. YDFDWLRQV DQG N EHQHÀWV Shawn Fanning, the founder
Okay, so besides the for In-N-Out employees). of Napster, did not only rake
STAFF
LQÁDWHGSULFLQJIURPKXVWOLQJ On the other hand, in money during this two
consumers, you might be the Israeli locksmith would year period. He also was
interested into how this is a have charged $100 (probably able to sell the Napster name EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
“scheme.” The parent com- more if we did not ask for and rise to fame (being fea- ZACHARY  F.  POWERS
panies spam ways people an exact quote previously). WXUHG LQ YDULRXV ÀOP UROHV
look up locksmiths. Histori- 7KDW OHDYHV  LQ SURÀWV Mentioning Napster is not
ASSOCIATE    &  COPY  EDITOR
cally, if people needed a lock- (Plus, the Israeli locksmith a off-hand comment, rather
smith they would look one up does not have to pay for a it is an example of a COL- CONNIE  TRIEU
in a phonebook. However, fancy locksmith van). If he LEGE STUDENT creating
today there is many methods received even half of the a program to make millions
EDITOR-AT-LARGE
WR ÀQGLQJ ORFNVPLWKV  /HW·V SURÀWV KH ZRXOG PDNH  using technology before its
MATT  ELLIOTT  ESTRADA
start with 4-1-1. “Hello, this for that job. That’s THREE questionable legality could
4-1-1 Information, what list- TIMES the amount of money be challenged, just like the
ing and location please?” that professional locksmith Israeli locksmith scheme STAFF  &  WRITERS
“Locksmiths in San Diego, would have generated! Ad- spamming Google Maps TYLER  BANTA
California.” Where do you ditionally, the owner of this DQGWRÀQGFRQVXPHUV
YOUSEF  BENHAMIDA
think this information comes company is not only mak- You’re probably ask-
DANIEL  CHURCH
from? People list businesses ing three times the amount of ing yourself right now, “Sure,
and they consequent added to income per job, but also the this is an intriguing story, but JUSTIN  DELAVAR
these directories. What about owner of this scheme has a what can a prospective young MIKE  KELLEY
Google Maps or other forms MUCH larger market share! entrepreneur learn from this EMILIO  MARCELINO
of digital mapping services? You might be thinking to scheme?” The reason is the
DAN  REVICH
On Google Maps, yourself, “This is awful! following. We live in a free
individuals can also easily They’re ripping people off!” market, capitalist economic
add location and companies. No, I’m envious. Yes, $100 environment. Yes, it is not a SPECIAL  THANKS  TO
Here is the climatic ques- is a sizable amount of mon- free-for-all without govern- ALEC  WEISMAN  OF  THE  CALIFORNIA  REVIEW
tion- what if a company ey for many UCSD students ment regulation. However,
listed thousands of fake com- living on state-subsidized when there are technologi-
IF   YOU   ARE   INTERESTED   IN   POSSIBLY   WRITING   AN   AR-
pany listing and had them all tuition. What do you think cal tools that can allow one
TICLE   FOR   THE  SAN  DIEGO  INVESTMENT  JOURNAL   OR  
redirected to one call opera- will happen if you look your to manipulate the market
tor? Let’s say there are 100 on-campus dorm’s suite key? place, one can strike it rich HAVE   ANY   QUESTIONS   REGARDING   THIS   PUBLICATION,  
legitimate listings in San Di- UCSD will probably charge quickly. This scheme could PLEASE  EMAIL  US  AT:
ego and there are 200 fake you around $100 if not more easily be applied to other
SANDIEGOINVESTMENTJOURNAL@GMAIL.COM
listings that all redirect to a to re-key the locks so your industries. Any UCSD stu-
few substitutes of one com- roommates don’t have “to dent could use take various
plumbing jobs could be ac- on high-technology (mi-
pany. That means that in fear a break-in.” When I was low-overhead service indus-
complished by a 18-year-old nus spin-offs from other
this example two-thirds of a freshman, anyone could try and use these technolo-
with minimum wage, no edu- large low-tech conglom-
all locksmith business de- come in to my suite through gies, i.e. mapping technology
FDWLRQDQGQREHQHÀWV(YHQ erates). If students who
mand will route through this my patio/balcony regardless & 4-1-1, to manipulate the
if the entrepreneur employed are interested in becom-
one company, thus causing if they had a stolen key. Is market place. For example,
experienced plumbers, you ing entrepreneurs truly
and allowing a near-monop- the University of California plumbing could pose as an
could easily take a major- want to understand how
oly. This near-monopoly system scamming students excellent example of an in-
ity of many cities business to strike it rich, they must
will allow for market pow- by not upgrading dorms to dustry to start a scheme such
simply by spamming Google XQGHUVWDQG WKDW ÀQGLQJ D
er and increased pricing. have electronic keys. This as this locksmith scheme.
Maps and other directories. technological corporate
Let’s say there is a scheme is just an example There are men out there who
Conclusively, most young niche should be one of
À[HGFRVWIRUGULOOLQJSLFNLQJ RI SHRSOH ÀJXULQJ RXW KRZ have been plumbers for 30-
corporations today are based their important priorities.
is $10 (for gas, insurance, and to become rich using tech- plus years, but most simple

The views expressed in the SAN DIEGO INVESTMENT JOURNAL

are solely those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the
opinions of the staff as a whole. The publication may have been
funded in part or in whole by funds allocated by the ASUCSD.
While the SAN DIEGO INVESTMENT JOURNAL is recognized
as a campus student organization at UC San Diego, the content,
opinions, statements and views expressed in this or any other pub-
lication published and/or distributed by California Review are not
endorsed by and do not represent the views, opinions, policies, or
positions of the ASUCSD, GSAUCSD, UC San Diego, the Univer-
VLW\ RI &DOLIRUQLD DQG WKH 5HJHQWV RU WKHLU RIÀFHUV HPSOR\HHV RU
agents, even though they should. Each publication bears the full le-
gal responsibility for its content. ASUCSD is our sponsor. © 2009
SAN DIEGO INVESTMENT JOURNAL . All rights reserved.
FALL QUARTER 2009 SAN DIEGO INVESTMENT JOURNAL PAGE THREE

USING SOCIAL NETWORKING TO BUILD YOUR

BUSINESS WITH LOW MARKETING OVERHEAD
BY CONNIE TRIEU
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The face of media
and marketing has slowly
but surely reshaped its
form and structure through
the growing use of the In-
ternet, by the young and
old. The possible number
of facets to assist in mar-
keting your business has
expanded and the mon-
etary cost of marketing
your business these days
have plummeted to nearly
nothing.
The new business
model for marketing and
advertising your company
is no longer just commer-
cials, radio commercials,
or advertisements in your
newspaper or magazine.
The new wave of adver-
tising your company is
through the popular social
network sites such as Yelp,
Facebook and Twitter.
Yelp.com was
founded in 2004 and is a
user powered website that
allows consumers to create
a free account and write
reviews on the businesses
they shop and obtain ser-
vices from. Yelp users
(a.k.a Yelpers) have writ-
ten over 7 million reviews.
Yelp’s website, although
consumer powered, can
still assist in simple free
marketing during these de-
manding economic times.
Kelly Brady, a hairstylist
at Salon Tonic in the heart
of Little Italy San Diego,
acquires business from
her clients writing Yelp
reviews to drum up new
business. Even though
her salon was rated Top
100 by Elle magazine this
past year, she still receives
business from her client’s
Yelp reviews. With 25 mil-
lion users visiting the site
monthly, Brady is able to
consistently bring in new
clients to her and the sa-
lon. This simple action
of her clients has boosted
her client base in ways she
couldn’t have imagined
without the help of Yelp.
Not only does it bring her
additional business, but
also the Yelp user reviews
on Salon Tonic’s Yelp
business page are a daily
free advertisement of her
amazing haircuts.
Twitter is another
social network that is ab-
solutely free to sign up
and use. Twitter has been
named one of the most
up and coming social
networking sites since
Myspace and Facebook.
The utilization of Twitter
WR ÀOWHU LWV 7ZLWWHU XVHUV
through their search bar
enables business-related
7ZLWWHU XVHUV WR ÀQG LWV
THE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE, FACEBOOK, HAS ALLOWED FOR THE
LOFT AT UCSD TO HAVE LOW COST EVENT ADVERTISING TO STUDENTS
potential market and then
communicate with them
on the website by either
“following” or having an
“@” conversation with
them. This may all sound
confusing if you are not an
avid Twitter user, but the
beauty of the entire web-
site is that it is an open
conversation which houses
regular users, companies,
and even celebrities.
According to the
Social Media Guide,
Mashable.com and
Nielsen Online, in March
2009, Twitter had a year to
date growth of 1382%. If
Twitter is used properly by
a business to market their
product, they are able to
reach a colossal new mar-
ket with the monetary cost
of zero. This trend is pivot-
al during these tough times
due to the slumping econo-
my and everyone spending
less when they can. Small
and large businesses are
able to use this marketing
tool to help their business
ÁRXULVK ZLWKRXW VSHQGLQJ
the obscene amounts of
money that normally going
into advertising. Not only
does Twitter decrease the
amount of money that goes
into marketing a brand or
company, it facilitates
companies to execute real
time marketing with ease.
Twitter also al-
ORZV FRQVXPHUV WR ÀQG
and follow their favorite
brands and companies to
see real time up to date
news through “tweets”
(or posts). As a consumer
myself, some of my favor-
ite brands to “follow” on
Twitter are @Starbucks,
and @DiscoverSD. Both
of these companies offer
up to date happenings that
I am interested in. By de-
veloping a large number of
followers to your compa-
ny’s Twitter page, a busi-
ness is able to extend their
brand throughout 2009’s
trendiest social network.
Michelle Guerin from @
DiscoverSD uses her com-
pany’s Twitter page to
promote San Diego hap-
penings and also events
and photos hosted at their
company’s website www.
discoversd.com. It is also
an effortless breeze for her
to make announcements
on upcoming events and
contests.
Another such com-
pany using Twitter every-
day to market and build a
closer, solid relationship
with the end users is Pan-
dora radio. Many Internet
users may be familiar with
Pandora radio because
they offer free intelligent
radio stations catered to
its listeners based on their
unique personal preferenc-
es. Pandora radio is avail-
able on the computer but
is also available on many
mobile phones, including
the ever-popular Apple
iPhone. Pandora radio has
over 2,000,000 mobile us-
ers. Managing a large con-
sumer base may be labori-
ous for most companies to
maintain and communi-
cate with, however that is
not the case for Pandora
Radio.
Customers no lon-
ger have to wait on hold for
hours to get to a customer
service representative with
their issues. For Pandora
radio, they discovered a
VLPSOHUDQGPRUHHIÀFLHQW
solution. Their Twitter
page maintained by Lucia
:LOORZ HDVHV WKH GLIÀFXO-
ties. Willow is Pandora’s
Community manager and
she keeps an open con-
versation everyday by
answering Pandora radio
users questions through
Twitter’s social network-
ing site. She can also man-
age the Pandora brand
name by using Twitter’s
search engine to search her
company name. The search
UHVXOWVDUHÀOWHUHGDQGVKH
is able to see real-time re-
sults of on going conversa-
tions mentioning of their
company name. The abil-
ity to search for Twitter us-
ers ‘tweeting” about Pan-
dora issues, she responds
back to them directly back
to them and relieves some
of the technical headaches
and confusions they may
have with their radio web-
site. By resolving these is-
sues, Pandora has found a
contemporary way to mar-
ket and keep their custom-
er’s happy.
Another modern
method using a trendy
social network is Face-
book Fanpages. Facebook.
com’s social networking
site has over 300 million
active users engaging in
more than 8 billion min-
utes worldwide every-
day. Almost everyone I
know, young and old, has
a Facebook account. CNN.
com has called Facebook
“the new living room”
for women 35 and older.
Parents even have Face-
book to keep in touch with
their children and friends.
With the amount of people
around the world accessing
Facebook’s website daily,
it only makes sense for a
business to have an online
presence. Facebook Fan
pages allow companies to
market their brand on the
in demand website. Face-
book users can express
their interest in a product
or company by “becoming
a fan” on the Fanpage. Us-
ers can “become fans” and
also write on the “wall”
of the Fanpage to interact
with the company/brand.
More than 10 million users
become a Fan of a busi-
ness or organization every
day.
The enormous
number of users in this In-
ternet forum are available
to market to for compa-
nies and institutions alike.
UCSD is also participating
in this marketing wave.
Two popular Fanpages
by UCSD is the alumni
Fanpage and the Loft @
UCSD Fanpage. Both of
these UCSD Fanpages
have over 2,000 fans. The
SEE ADS, PAGE 5
 PAGE FOUR
CREDIT - from page 1
the economy, have changed
since then. Because of the
recent recession, it is harder
to get a loan approved. There
are stricter rules in approving
a loan now compared to only
eight years ago.
There were pros and
cons to my sister’s “buying”
of the house in Northern Cal-
ifornia. The big pro was an
extremely healthy credit rat-
ing that helped out in getting
loans for other big purchases
like cars, and more recently,
D KRXVH 7KH PRVW VLJQLÀ-
cant con to this was the loss
RI WKH ´ÀUVW WLPH EX\HUµ WD[
return. As I mentioned ear-
lier, if I had been approved
on the loan to buy the house
in San Diego, we would
have received $8,000 back
from the government. That
$8,000 comes from the eco-
QRPLFVWLPXOXVSODQIRU´ÀUVW
time buyers.” Hence, when
my sister recently bought a
house, she didn’t get this tax
return back because she was
QRWDÀUVWWLPHEX\HU,I\RX
or your family are in a similar
situation, I strongly suggest
you weigh out the options
and decide when the timing is
ULJKW WR EH D ´ÀUVW WLPH EX\-
er.” Either way you decide,
you have a good outcome. It
just depends on the timing of
your purchase and how well
it coincides with the econo-
my’s health.
Secondly, I had no
credit. I have never owned a
credit card and had no credit
score. One needs a credit
score for borrowing enough
money to by a house!
My advice for col-
OHJH VWXGHQWV GRQ·W EH WHUUL-
ÀHGRIFUHGLWFDUGFRPSDQLHV
All the horror stories about
people going in debt early in
their adult lives is due to ir-
responsibility, not the credit
card companies. “Credit
cards should only be used
in emergencies and the bal-
ance should be paid off ev-
ery month.” This statement is
half true. Credit cards should
be paid off every month. But
the more you use it and pay it
off, the more responsible you
seem to investors and the bet-
ter your credit score will be
over time.
Before you go out
and get a credit card, talk it
over with someone who you
WUXVW LQ WKH ÀQDQFLDO VHFWRU
Borrowing with credit cards
is not always a negative thing,
especially when it could raise
your credit score enough to
earn you a $8,000 tax return.
Experience is a great thing
to learn from. Learn from
other’s mistakes so you don’t
make the same errors.
SAN DIEGO INVESTMENT JOURNAL FALL QUARTER 2009
CAP AND TAX INSANITY
BY DAN CHURCH sums it up best. “I’m of- the now cheaper renew- cies add the advantage of
GUEST WRITER fering you the choice of able energy, great! No fractional energy costs to
life or death, you can one will argue that pol- China’s already fraction-
Courtesy of the choose either blessings luting less is good. Well al labor costs.
California Review,
or curses.” Personally, I mission accomplished, Since the indus-
UC San Diego’s source for
Conservative Journalism
love the curse of prosper- you saved the mountains trial revolution, America
ity much more than the that contain coal, no more has polluted much more
blessings of poverty. oil spills, and now our air than its “fair share.” With
The fundamental idea Let’s look at the is super clean! But wait that also came prosperity
behind the global warm- SURSRVHG ZD\V RI ÀJKW- - China is building coal and superpower status.
ing movement is a way ing global warming. I plants right now like cra- We are the richest nation
to control the economy PXVW ÀUVW GLVFORVH WKDW , zy. Sorry, enviro-lefties, in the world and many
and slow the success of am a huge fan of renew- that means that coal will people feel guilty about
capitalism. Apparently,
able and alternative ener- still be polluting Mother it. No doubt, we can
the only way to save the gies. I would love noth- Gaia. atone for our success by
planet is forcing the
to stop the economy to
world from adopt such
burning
alternative
extremely energies,
cheap and which will
highly ef- result in
ÀFLHQW IRV- large break-
sil fuels. throughs in
Not only is
efficiency
this crazy, and cost.
it’s impos- That being
sible. said, are
Even if you willing
the United to bet the
States did
financial
switch to DISPITE VARIOUS CLAIMS THAT CHINA IS DRILLING VIA CUBA, THERE IS ACTUALLY LITTLE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THIS w e l l b e i n g
100% alternative ener- ing more than to have a Remember that and safety of your fam-
gy the rest of the world few solar panels up on Florida wouldn’t allow ily and generations of
would still pollute. Ask- my roof that took care offshore drilling? We Americans to come that
ing the developing world of my energy needs and could have tapped those this will pan out? Busi-
to spend much more on I could plug in my elec- RLO ÀHOGV RXUVHOYHV EXW nesses take large leaps
clean technology is noble tric car and drive for free. now China has, through of faith on new products
but foolish. It would be Like most Americans, Cuba, drilled sideways and technologies, but as
like telling you that you I hate shelling out $40 into that pocket of oil. a country, should we? If
have two options. Either WR ÀOO P\ JDV WDQN7KDW Then they need to ship it a business bets on a huge
you can take job A and being said, not being a all the way back to China new product and it fails it
get paid $50,000 a year liberal environmental- which is much further usually goes under (un-
with an annual raise of ist, I am also not insane. than we would transport less taxpayers are forced
10% or take job B and I understand the cost of it, making the chance of to bail it out). Can we af-
make $35,000 with an switching to that now is an oil spill greater. So ford to bet it all in a time
annual raise of 2%. To be much more than expen- what does America get when we are struggling
fair the second job does VLYH DQG OHVV HIÀFLHQW out of this? Higher pric- enough? Because fail-
FRPH ZLWK EHQHÀWV VXFK than paying $3 a gallon, es of all goods made in ure doesn’t just mean try
as feeling good that you something that is lost on America, higher electric- again this time, failure
are not polluting as much. environmentalists. ity costs, slower econom- could cause an economic
However, it also comes Cap and trade is ic growth, lower standard meltdown that makes the
with just as much pollu- another proposed way of living, etc. What does Great Depression and the
tion because your neigh- WR ÀJKW JOREDO ZDUPLQJ China get? China gets fall of the U.S.S.R. look
bor took the $50,000 This stellar idea basi- faster economic growth, like a small dip in the
dollar a year job and FDOO\ERLOVGRZQWRDUWLÀ- cheaper goods, and a stock exchange. The time
all his pollution blows cially raising the price of higher standard of liv- when alternative ener-
over to your yard. Not a coal, oil, and other fuels ing. Also America gets gies may be as cheap and
big deal, since all your the government deems an even larger trade im- HIÀFLHQW DV IRVVLO IXHOV
grass is dead anyway be- too polluting by taxing balance because since may come soon, but un-
cause you live in a shack, them so much that solar Chinese goods will be so til then, let’s not bet the
overshadowed by your and wind are cheaper. So much cheaper, even more farm on it.
neighbor’s pristine home what would happen to so than now. If you think This article can also be
and his prep school kids America if that is imple- outsourcing is a prob- found in the California
running around the front mented? First of all, pro- lem now, just wait until Review’s third issue of
\DUG,WKLQNWKHÀUVWOLQH ducers would switch to environmentalist poli- this Fall Quarter.
of Al Gore’s new book
 FALL QUARTER 2009 SAN DIEGO INVESTMENT JOURNAL PAGE FIVE

LONG-TIME ECONOMIC LOSSES COULD OUTWEIGH FROM SOCIAL NETWORKING

HELPS BUSINESSES
SHORT-TERM GOVERNMENT SAVINGS FROM UC TUITION HIKE PROMOTE EFFICIENTLY
BY JUSTIN DELAVAR may be necessary in the Whatever the pre- clearly demonstrate the ADS - from page 3
SENIOR STAFF WRITER DEVHQFH RI VXIÀFLHQW VWDWH rogatives in Sacramento positive economic ripple UCSD Alumni Fanpage
funding for the UC sys- may be, policies taken effect that UCSD has on uses their page to keep in
It’s commonly tem. this year to reduce fund- the state and local econo- touch with graduates about
known that our country is According to uni- ing for the university may my. Highly skilled gradu- upcoming events and how
in the process of recover- YHUVLW\ RIÀFLDOV WKH QHZ QRWVLJQLÀFDQWO\UHFRJQL]H ates of UC San Diego are to stay connected. The
ing from a recession, and fees are designed to com- that a robust UC system, one of the university’s Fanpage is an interactive
that California is no ex- pensate for a continued enhanced and facilitated PRVW VLJQLÀFDQW FRQWULEX- way for Alumni to stay
ception. Indeed, it was
tions to the state and in touch and current on
not long ago that TIME
local economies. UCSD news. The Loft @
magazine ran an article
It is in the state’s UCSD primarily employs
titled, “Is California the
economic best inter- their Fanpage to announce
State Closest to Economic
est for the university upcoming musical and so-
Ruin?”
to continue produc- cial events at the Loft. To
The Californian
ing highly-skilled keep their fans (a.k.a con-
unemployment rate is at
and entrepreneurial sumers) engaged with their
the highest it has been
minded faculty and brand, they post videos of
since the state began keep-
students—such as, past shows they have held.
ing records, Californian
Irwin Jacobs—be- Facebook Fans can then
foreclosure rates are one
cause as the report leave comments and even
of the highest in the na-
clearly demon- share the video on their
WLRQDQGLWVEXGJHWGHÀFLW
strates, these folks own Facebook page.
is projected by Governor
are major assets for American Appar-
Schwarzenegger to reach PROTESTS AGAINST THE TUITON HIKE AT UCLA LED TO POLICE USE TASERS ON THIS STUDENT
both the state and el’s Fanpage on Facebook
$41.8 billion by the bud- lack of state funding,
by state funding, will con- local levels of the econo- incorporates all these mar-
get-year ending in June which has left the univer-
tribute towards improving my. keting methods to enthrall
2010. sity with a multimillion- California’s economy.  ,I XQLYHUVLW\ RIÀ- its client base. Based on
In Schwarzeneg- dollar budget gap over the
These contribu- cials are forced to expand out of downtown LA and
ger’s State of the State ad- last several years.
tions were clearly exem- their out-of-state recruit- founded in 1996, Ameri-
dress, the governor said, Unfortunately, the SOLÀHG LQ DQ LQGHSHQGHQW ing in light of what they can Apparel is a fashion
“The truth is that Califor- regents may have to con-
study conducted on UCSD regard as a continued lack company that has capti-
nia is in a state of emer- tinue increase student
to create an overall picture of state funding, less op- vated the stylish hearts of
gency [and] addressing fees or consider other op-
of the university’s eco- portunities will be avail- many young Americans.
WKLVHPHUJHQF\LVWKHÀUVW tions—for instance, re-
nomic impact on both San able for California natives They market and advertise
and greatest thing we must SRUWHGO\ XQLYHUVLW\ RIÀ-
Diego and the state. The such as Irwin Jacobs who through Facebook to com-
do for the people.” cials are mulling over the results of the study reveal are more likely to contrib- municate with their shop-
The Governor prospect of expanding its
that the UC system is one ute to the state and local pers. What is remarkable
Schwarzenegger’s 2009- out-of-state recruiting to
of California’s greatest economies long after they about American Apparel
10 budget, adopted by the
economic as- have graduated from the is the simplicity in ability
state leg-
sets. University of California to announce promotional
islature in
UCSD con- system. events for their retail lo-
February
tributes more With Governor FDWLRQV DQG DOVR ÀQG QHZ
revealed
than $7.2 bil- Schwarzenegger’s pro- models and employees by
that ad-
lion in direct jection of a $41.8 billion announcing casting calls
dressing
and indirect EXGJHW GHÀFLW LW VKRXOG and job openings.
this emer- Additionally, when
spending and come to no surprise that
g e n c y a new store or seasonal col-
personal in- the budget would have to
would in- lection is launching, they
come each year be trimmed and state dol-
volve re- are able to painlessly type
to the econo- lars spent wisely.
ducing its a quick announcement and
my—and, gen- A sensible long-
operating communicate it with their
erates 39,000 term strategy to begin re-
support to 154,000 fans on Facebook.
jobs. storing the health of the
the Univer- There is no need to tape a
C o m p a - state economy, should
sity of Cal- AT UC SANTA CRUZ, STUDENTS EVEN OCCUPIED A BUILDING FOR SEVERAL DAYS commercial or pay for ra-
nies started by address and attempt to
ifornia. The compensate for what they UCSD faculty and alumni UHGXFH WKH EXGJHW GHÀ- dio advertising time. The
budget included $115.5 regard as a continued lack ease of communicating
are even more economi- cit—however, it may also
million in new budget re- of state funding. with their fan base is ex-
FDOO\ LQÁXHQWLDO³VXFK DV seriously consider provid-
ductions for the university Either way, the former Professor, Irwin Ja- ing substantial funding to traordinary, and did I men-
and assumed a 9.3 percent prospect of a student fee tion, absolutely free? With
cobs of Qualcomm—who sustain those institutions,
increase in student fees. increase is the result of are together responsible such as the University of the average computer user
At a November our state’s economic hard- spending 68 hours a month
for statewide economic California, that have con-
2008 meeting regarding its ships and subsequent poli- on the Internet (Nielsen
contributions of more than sistently been major con-
2009-10 budget proposal, cies from Sacramento (i.e. ratings September 2009),
$37 billion annually and tributors to the economy
the UC Board of Regents reducing state funding for it would be wise and prof-
nearly 130,000 jobs. In The UC system is
anticipated this lack of the university in its 2009- itable for companies and
San Diego, these start-ups one of California’s most
support for the university 10 budget) that may (or, organizations alike to cap-
add approximately $32 important economic as-
within the state budget, may not) be lacking appre- italize on this competitive
billion in direct and indi- sets and it is in the state’s
consequently approving ciation for the university’s and inexpensive marketing
rect spending and personal economic best interest for
an amendment that pro- lasting positive effects on phenomenon.
income to the economy. such assets to be sustained
vided student fee increases the state economy.
These studies
 PAGE SIX SAN DIEGO INVESTMENT JOURNAL FALL QUARTER 2009

AN ECONOMIC ARGUEMENT
FOR PUBLIC HEALTH CARE
BY DAN REVICH
GUEST WRITER
SAN DIEGO LAW STUDENT
Insurance compa-
nies are corporations. Cor-
porations have one under-
O\LQJ JRDO WR PD[LPL]H
SURÀWV IRU WKHLU VKDUHKROG-
ers. This is not necessarily
a bad thing, but it is a fact.
Insurance companies are
not in business to make sure
everyone is insured, they
are in business to sell poli-
cies and make money.
Think about insur-
ance policies, for instance
televisions. If it costs a
company $50 to produce a
television, but the company
can sell the television for
$100 as it would for $50,
it would be ignorant to not
to sell the televisions for
$100. Let’s say you can sell
ten televisions for $100.
That’s $1000 in television
revenues and $500 in costs,
ZLWKDSURÀWRI:KDW
if you could sell eight tele-
visions for $200, with two
fewer people buying tele-
visions because they’re too
expensive? That’s $1600 in
revenues and $400 in costs,
ZLWK D SURÀW RI  ,W
would be stupid not to raise
the price to $200. But what
about those two poor suck-
ers who don’t have tele-
visions anymore? Well,
they’re just televisions so
it’s no problem.
Health insurance op-
erates in the same manner.
Insurance companies have
incentives to charge higher
and higher rates, up to the
SRLQW ZKHUH SURÀW LV PD[L-
mized and any increase in
price will cause companies
or individuals purchasing
the insurance to drop cover-
age at a loss to the insurer.
But, unlike with televisions,
not having an insurance
policy means risking sick-
ness, death or bankruptcy.
This makes health insur-
ance highly inelastic, in that
a large increase in price will
cause only a few people to
drop coverage. Letting peo-
ple become sick by forcing
them to drop coverage due
to the cost is built into the
current private health care
system.
In a purely com-
petitive economy, insurance
companies would not be
able to charge rates as high
as that which would maxi-
PL]H SURÀWV EHFDXVH RWKHU
companies would charge
cheaper rates. Going back
to the television example,
imagine if your competitor
sold similar televisions for
$100. Then, if another com-
REPBULICAN REP. STEVE KING, R-IOWA, WAVES THE 2,074-PAGE HEALTH CARE BILL IN FRONT OF THE CAPITOL
pany is still charging $200,
the original competitor B
could only sell 2 televi-
VLRQVZLWKDSURÀWRI
which is less than the $500
the competitor would make
if competitor A sold them
for $100. It would make
sense to buy your competi-
tor out so that competitor B
can jack up the price to $200
and sell 8 televisions again.
Or, competitor B could talk
to your competitor A, and
agree to both sell the tele-
visions for $200. Or, even
better, Competitor B could
buy the factory that sells the
televisions to competitor
A and make that company
stop selling to the competi-
tor, then increase the prices
and watch your competi-
WRUÀ]]OHRXW7KLVLVFDOOHG
gaining market power, (mo-
nopoly power if you are the
only seller).
Most of the health
industry is not competi-
tive. There are a limited
number of health provid-
ers, and they collude on
prices. Health care compa-
nies gain market power in
a way that is similar to the
third example in the previ-
ous paragraph. The factory
producing televisions is like
a hospital providing health
services. Insurance compa-
nies often own hospitals, or
have exclusive agreements
with hospital operators.
They make sure no other
insurance companies have
access to those hospitals,
or make agreements with
other companies to charge
the same prices for access
to those hospitals.
Insurance compa-
nies will charge rates that
are as high as they possibly
can, and squeeze people out
of coverage. In a recession,
more people and businesses
are forced to drop cover-
age because they don’t have
jobs. Insurance companies
raise rates to compensate
for having fewer custom-
ers, because they know that
the remaining customers
will fork over more money
for an essential service like
health care.
Insurance compa-
nies are also dis-incentivised
from providing coverage to
people with pre-existing
health conditions, the peo-
ple who need health insur-
ance the most. Think about
it like a life insurance pol-
icy. Would a health insur-
ance company sell a policy
for $100 a month that paid
out $100,000 to someone
who was likely going to die
in 2 months? That would
be unreasonable, since the
insurance company knows
they would lose almost
$100,000 on the deal. Simi-
larly, health insurance com-
panies would not provide
coverage to someone who
has suffered from cancer,
since that person is likely to
rack up a lot of medical bills
if their cancer comes back.
Health insurers are in the
business of risk, and sick
people present too high of a
risk.
The result of all of
these issues is that society
loses. Health care should
not be a scarce commodity
like TVs. It should be a uni-
versal commodity available
to all. Some would argue
that under the current sys-
tem, hospitals are forced to
provide emergency cover-
age, and therefore the poor
do get care. However, many
individuals are forced to go
into bankruptcy because of
this situation. Further, there
is more than emergency
coverage necessary to have
proper health care. What
about diseases or opera-
tions? What about checkups
that can prevent or catch
sickness early? What about
high deductibles and denials
of coverage for those who
do have health care? Every-
one should have a right to a
basic level of health care.
Why has nothing changed?
A problem that has persisted
due to the current system is
widespread involvement
of insurance companies in
spending money to sway
people to support their com-
panies and the current sys-
tem. Again, this is just a part
of the system. If a company
is making $1 billion a year
LQ SURÀW LW·V ZRUWK 
million to pay someone to
make sure that their compa-
Q\LVVWLOOPDNLQJWKDWSURÀW
If the company will only
make $500 million a year
LQSURÀWWKH\GRQ·WQHHGWR
spend on advertising, then
there are $400 million in
savings if you spend that
$100 million.
There’s no point
blaming insurance compa-
nies for spending hundreds
RIELOOLRQVRIGROODUVWRÀJKW
the public option by giving
money to lawmakers and
spending money on expen-
sive advertisements to sway
public opinion in their fa-
vour. They are private com-
panies, and those funds are
a worthwhile investment for
them. But businesses should
not be fooled.
Any solution with-
out a public option is es-
sentially a band-aid. Many
just force insurance compa-
nies to take losses on people
with pre-existing conditions
and the poor who can’t af-
ford insurance. The govern-
ment would have to subsi-
dize those losses in some
way shape or form. Prices
will keep going up, and in-
evitably the taxpayer will
have to pay.
A public health in-
surance provider would
SEE HEALTH CARE, PAGE 7
 FALL QUARTER 2009
HEALTH CARE - from page 6
have a different incentive
system from a private cor-
poration. Rather than maxi-
PL]LQJSURÀWVWRVKDUHKROG-
ers, a public insurer would
ZDQW WR PLQLPL]H SURÀWV
or even take losses, so as
to make sure the maximum
number of people are able
to get the best possible cov-
erage. A public organiza-
tion’s incentives are direct-
ed towards pleasing voters.
Thus, the more happy vot-
ers, the more support for
the organization. The more
people that have coverage,
the more happy voters.
The public option is like a
competitor selling televi-
sions for $50, or even $40.
What are you going to do if
your competitor is selling
televions for $40 that cost
company B $50 to produce?
Well, you either go out of
business or build a better
TV that you can make mon-
ey off of.
The public option
would force insurance com-
panies to sell better and
cheaper plans that would
compete with the public
plan. The public plan would
slowly swallow up the
FKHDS DQG LQHIÀFLHQW VLGH
of the health coverage mar-
ket. Many employers would
switch their coverage to the
public option to cut costs.
Private insurers would be
forced to compete with pub-
lic providers.
This scenario would
be better for America. Em-
ployers would be able to
VHH PRUH SURÀWV EHFDXVH
they can save money on
giving health care to their
employees. All Americans
would be covered, and not
be forced into bankruptcy
to survive sickness. Medi-
cal costs would go down
because the government in-
surer would be able to bar-
gain with medical providers
to lower medical costs.
Many people are
afraid of this scenario un-
folding because they think
it represents socialism.
Perhaps a complete gov-
ernment takeover of health
care, hospitals, and the de-
struction of private competi-
tion as exists in Canada and
other countries would be so-
cialistic. But just providing
a government option that
competes with the private
options is no different from
a public school system, or a
public parcel delivery sys-
tem. Private schools have
to offer an education that is
SAN DIEGO INVESTMENT JOURNAL PAGE SEVEN
POSITIVE ENERGY IN FACING THE RECESSION
INSPIRATION - from page 1 maybe more, just to believe death hole of life. That is the economy and stock pric-
that the course of study all it takes to be a business
es would soar. The econo-
can have it. Becoming rich, printed on this paper is success story. Don’t listen my is this way because peo-
is all about belief in oneself.what your destiny is in life. to anything negative what- ple do not have much to live
Afterall, why do you think I Stop thinking what if, or soever. Fill your mind and for their country at the mo-
said sole-proprietor instead what could happen, or how life with positive thinking ment. Other than Obama,
of partnership earlier? True it could happen, and just about the imagination of theand the occasional good
business motivation comes start telling the world what future and implement what YouTube video, life is the
from within, and should be you want, and acting on it. you have learned in the as- same, day in, and day out.
stretched to the maximum Let your thoughts mani- pect of business into your Let look back to 1980. At
with no looking back. Take fest into reality. Who we actions. Hope to see your this time, the United States
a look around you; every- are, after all, is the residual income tax bill at a millioneconomy was in a horrible
one in society makes you outcome of all of our past dollars a year, keep it in state. The average person
feel and believe as if things thoughts. Also, throw the your head all the time, makewas not very happy. There
like I just mentioned are idea of an internship away; it your goal, and no mat- was not much to be happy
impossible. “You’re think- it is a waste of time, and a ter what, every time it willabout, at least that’s what
ing crazy.” Is what I hear a way that companies give happen, to every person, no people thought. At the very
lot. If you want it, same time, a
keep that image in remarkable
your mind, and the “miracle”
thoughts will mani- was about
fest themselves. to happen
Even though I go that would
to UCSD, I do not catapult the
do it for the edu- United States
cation. College is out of a slight
not a testament of depression.
how you will do in The Soviets
life. In fact, it has ZHUH ÀJKWLQJ
little bearing. You the United
are a pawn of a big- States in vir-
ger picture at stake. tually every
Tell yourself you aspect in life.
are different than One thing
everyone else. Af- they surely
terall, everyone is dominated
WITH FRANCHISES AROUND THE WORLD, THERE IS LITTLE QUESTION TO THE
different. Busi- was hockey.
PROFITABILITY OF CHAINS SUCH AS MCDONALD’S. THE QUESTION IS IF A FRANCHISE’S
ness success cannot I guess this
PROFITABILITY CAN OUTWEIGH ITS LOAN’S INTEREST RATE
come from anyone is how they
else but yourself and the you busy work no one else matter what, you just have chose to make up for losing
mentality you have. I hope wants at no expense while to believe it, and not think the space race. Little did
you do not think that pay- promising you that you will you’re crazy. What if Bill everyone know, anything
ing $80,000 at this school, attain “experience.” Now Gates was your best friend is possible. A group of col-
better than the public sys- ask yourself, how does one in high school and he told lege players beat the soviet
tem can offer. The public gain knowledge and experi- you that he was going to not ex-soldier hockey experts
system thus encourages bet- ence sorting the mail. Most go to college, and create the in the US Olympic games
ter education for all. importantly, to be wealthy, most successful software of 1980. This gave Amer-
Health care should which is a combination of company that would propel ica hope and something to
be a right ensured by the the size of your bank ac- the world into a new mil- be proud of. The Ameri-
government, not a pur- count AND the amount of lennium while being the can economy was actu-
chased commodity like tele- VHURWRQLQ ÁRZLQJ LQ \RXU one of the richest people in ally lifted as a result of this
visions. Americans need to brain, In other words, you the world? Even I would event as crazy as it sounds.
stop listening to the rheto- must feel good all the time. have thought he was crazy. And many sports analysts
ric presented by the insur- Express that positive en- But then again, he wouldn’t believe this is the great-
ance companies. These ergy to the world, and not have listened to me. Look est upset in sports history,
FRPSDQLHV DUH ÀJKWLQJ IRU be a shmuck. Trust your what happened to him. maybe greater than Robin
their lives. Fortunately for instincts, they have guided I would really like Soderling beating Nadal at
them, the people in charge you all the way to this point to talk about America and the French Open this year.
of making the decision to in life. Figure out what you its current economic state. In reality, everyone thought
put a public option in place want, don’t worry about If you haven’t heard, the this was impossible, but the
are corrupt and ignorant, how it will happen, just economy is apparently bad people believed in them-
and will shift their position strive for it day in and day at the moment. I would like selves and allowed no nega-
in return for kickbacks that out, and before you know to be the one to tell you, this tive thoughts to breach. It
will get them re-elected. it, the world will rearrange absolutely does not have is truly a marvelous thing
The only way things will itself to creating you into anything to do with how to live in the magic of life.
change is if American sup- a business mogul if this is you should go about your I suggest that each and ev-
port for the public option what you desire. I can sure- life. The economic state eryone that has read this ar-
increases, and the only way ly tell you, if you want to be is the outcome of America ticle reevaluates where they
that will happen is if Ameri- a business success story, but and its entire populous be- are, and asks themselves, is
cans get educated about the the little guy in the back of ing in a state of depression. this truly where I want to
issue. Tell a friend that the your head tells you, “I can’t I can absolutely guarantee be? Do not allow someone
public option will make life do that,” then guess what, if WKDW LI HYHU\ QLQHWRÀYH else’s miracle be the reason
better for all Americans. Be you believe him, he will be worker started taking Pro- for you to do what you do.
proud to stand up for your right. You will go nowhere zac, America would be lift-
right to healthcare! and stay in your current ed from this depression, and
 PAGE EIGHT
EXPERIENCE FROM STUDENT ORGANIZATION CAN TEACH BUSINESS TACTICS
BY MICHAEL KELLEY
GUEST WRITER
Throughout life
there are many decisions
that affect all aspects of our
lives, most of which come
down to monetary or in-
vestment opportunities. We
all think that we are busi-
ness savvy because we can
all balance a check book or
keep enough money in the
account monthly to pay off
that credit card, but I can tell
you that is just the tip of the
ice berg. Until recently I also
WKRXJKWOLNHWKLV,ÀJXUHG,
could easily take control of
a business and increase its
SURÀWV ZLWK D GLOLJHQW ZRUN
ethic and controlled spend-
ing. Little did I know that
soon enough my skills and
wits were going to be put to
the test.
Throughout college
I have been a member of a
UCSD Snow Club on cam-
pus that’s main goal is to
acquire local sponsors that
the snow club can then of-
fer discounts to its mem-
bers. UCSD Snow Club of-
fers its members affordable
snow gear and attire, as well
as discounts on other local
sponsors to entice college
students to join the club for a
yearly membership fee. The
club also offers its members
great deals on club snow
trips. The club takes many
members up to a mountain
such as Mammoth and club
SAN DIEGO INVESTMENT JOURNAL
members can all share a cab- per in ways that is never has.
in to not only cut costs but to In the past, the club has had
make for a fun party atmo- a lot of money however due
sphere. The club is self sus- to people siphoning away all
tained and does not receive of the free gear that was giv-
any funding from the school, en to members and frivolous
and only gains money spending, it led to the club
through membership, trips being in danger of announc-
and parties that are put on. ing bankruptcy many times.
7KLV FOXE \HDUO\ KDV RIÀFHU For most people, change is
HOHFWLRQV,ÀJXUHGQRZZDV pretty hard, especially if you
a good time to try my hand at have become used to get-
running this “business” and ting something for nothing,
I ran for presidency, which I but all good things have to
won. FRPHWRDQHQG0\ÀUVWRU-
From that point on der of business was to trim
I was now in charge of 300 the fat, the club had staff
members, all cash and trans- members that help out with
actions for trips, and plan- trips and parties but many
ning and running all parties. staff members had come ac-
$W ÀUVW LW ZDV RYHU ZKHOP- custom to doing no work and
ing and was hard to stick JHWWLQJWKHEHQHÀWVRIEHLQJ
with. During my transition on staff, so I had to remove
to power we were putting on all of the staff members that
a trip to Lake Tahoe and at did minumal work. A busi-
that time had about 60 mem- ness runs better if you have
bers coming on the trip. Dur- 5 people you can depend
LQJP\ÀUVWFRXSOHRIZHHNV on to do major jobs instead
in charge, I was collecting of 25 people that do little or
money left and right and at no work. Once my staff was
times had well over $4000 in ÀJXUHGRXW,WKHQGHFLGHGWR
20 dollar bills in hand. This take all of the free gear that
is a large amount of cash no the club was given to give
matter how much money out to members and hold
you have. It was around this out of the public and staff’s
time that I was responsible eye. Many years in the past
for a lot of people’s invest- staff would raid all of our
ments and had to do my best free gear for members and
at keeping the books straight leave us with nothing to give
and making sure that every- back to our members. This
one got what they paid for. allowed me to reward hard
6R , ÀJXUHG RXW D VFKHPH working staffers with free
that would help me and in- gear while at the same time
evitably help the club pros- having enough to redistrib-
FALL QUARTER 2009
ute at meetings to members.
Lastly, my main goal
was to control spending and
to keep track of the clubs cash
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once I was done and passed
the responsibility of the club
to someone else, that there
was money in the account
for them to work with. When
I was given ownership of the
UCSD Snow Club there was
about $600 in the account
and we owed two separate
parties a total of $3200.
:KHQVWDULQJDGHÀFLWRIWKDW
PDJQLWXGH IRU D QRQSURÀW
organization, it seems a little
overwhelming, but all of this
can be overcome. You have
to realize that debt like this
will not get paid off all at
once. To resolve this mon-
etary issue, I communicated
with the two parties that we
RZHG PRQH\ WR DQG ÀJXUHG
out a long term plan for them
to receive their money back
as well as the club getting
back on its feet. As of to-
day, it has been about 10
months and the club is doing
very well and we only owe
about $150 total. I made
sure to pay myself (or the
club) before I paid off parts
of our debt, because if the
FOXE ÁRXQGHUHG WKHQ ERWK
parties wouldn’t get their
money. Additionally, all of
our members would also be
left with the short end of the
stick. And sadly, there would
no longer be a snow club.
What should you
take from this? Well it’s up
to you to take what you will
from reading this, but there
are things that I have learned
the hard way that you can
easily read and apply to your
future ventures. You need to
make sure that any venture
you are about to enter into,
do your research on the ven-
ture and study. Create a plan
of what you want to get out
of your endeavor, and how
you can go about achieving
that goal, and above all, nev-
er lose your cool. Many dras-
tically wrong decisions have
been made under duress,
keeping calm and thinking
through every situation is
the best way to protect your
endeavors. Lastly, you must
have a separation of business
and friendship, I have many
friends in the club that have
attempted to not pay mem-
bership or get off of working
for the club because we are
good friends. This always
will come back to haunt you
if you don’t take care of it
right away, just convey that
this is a business/investment
that you are putting yourself
on the line and any slack you
give will only affect your
judgment, once they think
they can walk on you then
they will try it again.
If you have any questions for
this writer, he can be reached
at mkelley@ucsd.edu

DOWN
BUSINESS AROUND UC SAN DIEGO
1. FIRST COMPANY TO DISAPPEAR NATIONALLY
3. CAN I GET SOME CURLY FRIES WITH THAT?
SURE, WE’RE HQ’D IN SD.
5. SD’S VERSION OF 1-800-FLOWERS
8. HOW THE JACOBS OF THE JACOBS SCHOOL
OF ENGINEERING MADE HIS MILLIONS
9. SAN DIEGO’S ANIMAL CORPORATION

ACROSS
2. PER YEAR INCREASE IN DEBT
4. LET’S PLAY SOME GOLF IN SAN DIEGO!
6. WHY MANY STUDENTS CANNOT GET LARGE
LOANS
7. CORPORATION THAT BOUGHT PRICE CLUB
10. ONE OF CALIFORNIA’S MOST PROMINENT
SECTORS BUT ALSO LEADING TO THE CURRENT RE-
CESSION
11. “SUN” IN SPANISH OR THE FIRST NAME OF
THE PRICE IN “PRICE CENTER”
/HKPDQ%URWKHUV'HÀFLW-DFNLQWKH%R[&DOODZD\3UR)ORZHUV&UHGLW&RVWFR4XDOFRPP3(7&25HDO(VWDWH6RO