European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 26, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Volans try to make cents on radio and to by Timothy Cahill new York Bureau lets face it capitalism is a Contact sport. It takes strategy for the average wage earner not to get ground into the Sod. And someone to provide the right coaching. Enter the Volans. Every Day on radio and television this husband and wife team goes on the offensive in the Money game. The two help people who can to afford accountants people who done to know what financial planners do to pick their Way through the treacherous trenches of making a Buck. From their modest office 20 floors above the grit and grind of times Square Ken and Daria Dolan offer financial advice on a wide arc of subjects from the off beat a collecting autographs or writing off gambling losses a to the rarefied a Zero Coupon Bonds or venture capital. Luckily most of their counsel is on More practical matters things like getting a Job buying a Home saving for retirement. That the Volans can speak authoritatively on subjects from the exotic to the every Day is one of the things that makes them so popular. As any straight a student will Tell you being smart does no to guarantee you a place in Peoples hearts. And that a precisely where the Volans find themselves. Heard every Day in Europe on armed forces radio and in the states on both a daily two hour radio Call in show and on the Cable financial news network Ken and Daria they encourage the familiarity seem to be everywhere their audience of More than 50 million people wants them to be. Economics is not known As the dismal science for nothing yet in this traditionally stodgy Field the Volans have achieved considerable a and growing a celebrity. Having both worked on Wall Street and for brokerage firms in Florida they have the resume to Call themselves authorities. They subscribe to 700 publications a month read six papers a Day and have an extensive circuit of sources and experts they talk to on the phone. Very Little happens in the world of Money that they done to know about. All this expertise has not put them out of touch with the Public however. This bantering couple of 20 years who address callers to their program with a friendliness that Borders on intimacy ensures their popularity by taking sides with the Little Guy and by attempting to boil the Cloudy brew of financial information Down to a pure essence of meaning. The Volans like nothing better than explaining away the mysteries of to Bills term life insurance and variable rate mortgages. Pure pleasure for them is describing the Clever ways Bankers and brokers separate confused Consumers from their Money. They re up front about the dangers of lending or borrowing with friends or family but then gladly advise someone on How Best to do it while preserving both the relationship and the Money. A this kind of information is needed especially now in the �?T90s,�?� Ken said. A a we re in the right place at the right indeed As the recession squeezes american Pink Elbo oks the Volans increase their Fortune dispensing advice on How to gel through the hard times. Their advice is not new or revolutionary. They Are conservative in their approach to the eco nomic climate. A we have Good times and then we have bad times a Ken said with a shrug. Quot neither one lasts a a we be never been Able to reinvent the business Cycle a Daria added. A we have yet to change it. We have peaks and we have troughs. This one is a very deep it will pass they both say and their advice is to be As patient As possible. For people with Money to save or invest they recommend conservative schemes where the return May be lower but the Money is Safe and reasonably accessible. For those without the resources or even perhaps a Job to Bank on the Volans suggest they prepare for the eventual upswing. They see this recession As a watershed period for the Economy particularly in tiie area of jobs. As the Volans spoke the governments figures showed unemployment at More than 7 percent. Around new York posters read Quot Saddam Hussein still has a Job. Do you a a the situation is As bad and getting As worse As the Early �?T80s,&Quot Daria said referring to the recession of 1982-83. A the Federal government has underestimated the amount of the worst part of the slump she pointed out is that the Job Market is permanently reducing its capacity. Quot Many of the jobs Are being eliminated forever Quot Ken said particularly in heavy Industry and Middle management positions. As Europe and Asia increasingly manufacture Mure for less and on time America drifts toward a service in Dusty where minimum wage or just slightly above is the Best employers will pay. To services Erners contemplating getting out of the military Daria offered sobering advice. Quot if they have the option id strongly recommend they do another tour. If you be put up with it for x number of years put up with it for another tour of duty Quot she said. And while in the ser ice she noted gis should Quot think about what additional training they can get she added a begin networking with people Back in the states while you re still in the a major shift in the workforce is occurring the Volans said. The traditional delineation of Blue Collar and White Collar jobs is being joined by what they called Gold Collar positions which require people with hands on skills and leadership ability. The Days of Middle level managers Are disappearing they said an mba and a collection of neckties wont guarantee a position anymore. Said Ken Quot America is looking for problem solvers. Done to just emphasize skills. A Pasi a How what you did improved where you the traditional dream of the returning Soldier is to move Back Home and Settle Down in a a financed House. Again the Volans have a Frank Capra sized Bubble to burst. The Economy is in such flux at the moment that Rushing to buy a House might he the biggest error a returning vet could make. Quot its not a real estate Market where you can make mistakes anymore a Daria explained. Houses Are Selling much More slowly and Lor less profit than at any time since the end of Woi old War ii she explained. They re not the sure Hie investment a the Quot estate Lynch pm Quot As Ken put it a that they used to he. A a the idea of a House going lion $20,000 to $400,000 is gone Quot he said. Better to think of a House As Quot a place to their message was t All gloomy Quot i he econ Virny will come Hack Quot Ken said confidently. They la he Golden Days a former Navy Man he Hail Palling wools of advice for returning ils. Omilig out of the service is one the i Oudes limes of you Hie Quot he said done to be stupid like me i a Cistand what your Veteran benefits Are benefits have never been More in Poisant Quot january 26 1tj2 v a f a rage 15
