If you've ever accompanied a 6-year old to the local mall, you will have noticed it yourself. That certain magnetic force field emanating from toy stores such as Imaginarium, Zaney Brainey, and — at least until its Christmas '99 bankruptcy closeout sale — Learning Smith.

In fact, the only thing more amazing than this force field is its effect on the deductive manipulation skills of the typical 6-year old: After all, most of the toys hawked bear the premium label of "educational." And who can reasonably deny a child the means to further his or her education or intellectual growth?

Of course, there are limits. After all, even the most realistic and "educational" set of sharks, dinosaurs, and jungle carnivores are nothing but crudely shaped blobs of plastic... designed for the sole purpose of you stepping on them barefoot in the dark living room, before ending up in the collection bag for Disabled American Veterans...

But what's a couple of bucks. After all, China's ascent into a major economic super power is built on endless streams of plastic animals.

But selling worthless junk as education for cold, hard cash does not end at the checkout counter of your local toy store. In fact, it really only takes off once you start looking at private education.

In the greater Baltimore area, you can spend $13,000 dollars per year on sending your kid to a private school. From First Grade to High School diploma (assuming they don't raise rates on you), that's $156K. (Add a year of private kindergarten and one of "pre-1" — if your kid can't read before entering 1st grade — and you're out close to $175,000.)

And that's before you've mailed out your first college application.

Now add an additional $25-30,000 per year for a well reputed private college, and preparing one child for the rough world of adulthood has just set you back $300,000.

I don't know about you. But for that kind of cash, I expect a brain transplant... Einstein's brain, for starters!

Even $300,000 would not be bad if it provided a decent return. Like a decent salary right out of college. Some degrees and some colleges do give you a fighting chance at it. But have you seen the titles of courses offered by some high-priced colleges... marveled at the absurdity of some undergraduate and graduate degrees touted in college prospectuses?

There are B.A.s in screenwriting... M.A.s in "creative writing" and "desk-top publishing"... communications majors with emphasis on "gender and television". Each of these nonsensical degrees represents years and years of parental work... all for a shot at waitressing!

As a publisher, I receive hundreds of resumees from English, creative writing" and communications majors. Nearly all of them are junk. But you can't really blame the kids. The universities themselves have turned into businesses who have to churn out new departments, new specialties and sub-specialties, just to keep the armies of graduates employed who would never cut it on the job market

For now, parents who wouldn't even consider buying a vacuum cleaner at full retail price are forking over untold thousands to universities who — like your neighborhood toy store — are selling plastic junk at tremendous mark-ups. But with rising tuition cost and decreasing chances for short-term returns, I believe that we will be witnessing a shift in consumer behavior affecting academia.

For one, it is inevitable that parents will start placing specific demands on the return they get for all that truition money. Including a demand for career-oriented paths that will pay off, come hell or high water. Literally.

(Even if that means that Johns Hopkins University might have to offer Bachelor's Degrees in Interior Plumbing, or Harvard having to add "Skilled Carpentry" to its curriculum...)

In the meantime, we have to face facts. More than 80 million children were born in the United States between 1980 and 1999. For the parents among us, getting those kids off our backs won't be cheap. And the only place where we have a fighting chance at generating the kind of money to educate or kids in the Old System is the stock market.

Which is one of the reasons why Taipan focuses on recommendations with a good chance of producing above-average returns. Like James Passin's U.S. Small Cap Portfolio (up an average 161% as of this writing) and his Global Technology picks — up an average of 78% since January 3.

This April 2000 issue is again packed with ideas to make money... to allow you and your family to live the way you want to.

Cordially yours,

J. Christoph Amberger
Publisher, Taipan

P.S.: Please check out Taipan's new health-related website, www.247you.com. Featuring daily coverage on health, entrepreneurship, and travel, this electronic site will supersede the printed issue our U.S. subscribers have been receiving. As Taipan members, membership and full access to 247you.com are FREE. Check it out!