X-Message-Number: 13952
From: "George Smith" <>
References: <>
Subject: Re: Better Financial Shape?
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 15:45:28 -0700

In Message #13945,  Raphael T. Haftka wrote:

> Re: #13943  
>
> >This is why I chose Alcor, someone who charges the highest fees, and has
> >the most cash in the bank is going to be able to keep me frozen longer.
>
> Is this true? Is Alcor in better financial shape than other cryonics
> organizations?

I am not qualified to speak for the Cryonics Institute, but I always feel
good that CI has no debt and a written policy of remaining debt-free.

When a company owns everything (buildings, cryostats, office equipment,
etc.) I find this appealing.  I realize that most businesses today embrace
debt as a natural part of doing business but I simply can't help but feel
that having a very firm no-debt foundation makes sense on several levels.

When you have no debt, it is hard to not stay in the black.  If staying in
the black means staying power, then I would rather be debt free that not.
If the economy every takes a nosedive in the future as it did the in the
1930s with the Great Depression, then being debt free could become
incredibly important.

It could be easily argued that having more members and therefore more money
is of greater importance than carrying debt, and I would agree IF the bottom
line were in the black and not in the red. Because CI has a policy of no
debt, it will not likely ever be in the red.  For the long haul, that could
prove to be very important.

In my opinion, it isn't just how much cash you have in the bank.  It is also
how much you owe and how much the interest rates are on what you owe.  If
those interest rates ever climb back into double digits (as they did during
the Carter administration) your debt servicing can kill you.

Just my opinion.

George Smith

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