BY HARRY RING
Must be a genetic defect - A survey found that most teenagers are financial illiterates. Only a handful knew that bank certificates of deposit are insured by the feds. Most didn't even know that playing the stock market is the best way to build your nest egg.

A thought - Distressed by the finding of teen financial illiteracy, concerned groups have formed Jump Start, an educational coalition. Do you think they might teach kids how they can ensure a decent living and anticipate a secure future? Or, maybe, would youth do better checking out the Young Socialists?

Lying gets harder - Asserting that the stop-communism message of the 1947 Marshall plan was simple, clear-cut, and understandable, the Los Angeles Times says "Clinton has none of these advantages. Today's dangers to European security are as real as those in 1947, but they are hard to identify and even harder to explain or understand."

Clear enough? - "Why doesn't an AIDS vaccine exist today? One simple reason is economics. Vaccines, unlike drugs, typically don't cost much to make, they don't sell for a high price and they don't make their manufacturers large profits." - Los Angeles Times

Lord of the Privy - A record take was expected from the recent auction of British barony and lordship titles. Time was when such titles meant you could claim local shipwrecks, organize a private army, and/or build a gallows in your village. Now it's mainly for stuffed-wallet folks to dress up their letterhead.

Who needs wages - We were touched when John Barnsdale, top dog at Netscape, said that he would only take a $1 salary this year because the computer search software company hasn't been doing well profit-wise. But, happily, Barnsdale will get by. He unloaded a third of his company stock holdings for $100 million.

Big Bother with the Big Eye -Police have installed a closed circuit camera system at checkpoints in England's Wall Street, the City of London. The cameras can scan a license plate in four seconds and authorities say they have stopped or tracked more than a thousand vehicles for "suspected" links to terrorism or other offenses.

Not as dumb as they look? -Hull, England, cops say they captured 22 people wanted for criminal offenses by sending them invitations to a phony offering of free use of home entertainment systems. We're still puzzling how they knew where to send the invitations.

Beat the (postal) system - If you're coming to the Socialist Workers convention in Oberlin, bring along those clippings you've been intending to mail for this column. We gladly accept hand delivery. For those who won't be there: Send clippings to Great Society, Pathfinder Bookstore, 2546 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. 90006 or fax to (213) 380- 1268.  
 
 
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