Ninja Cat - Business

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I do not smoke cigarettes. I get enough smoke walking down the street and breathing in automobile exhaust fumes. My reading teacher from Pittsburgh said though, that back in the steel mill days if you walked down the street with white gloves, that they would be black by the time you got home.

Deflation represents a greater threat to U.S. economic recovery than inflation. In hard times people tend to be more conservative and save more, causing prices to drop in response to a decrease in demand, stifling economic growth because although prices will drop, people will still be less likely to spend during this period. Japan is already starting to feel the brunt of deflation: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article6853348.ece

Zipcar is not a convenient alternative to owning a car in an urban area. At least not in NYC. I'd rather take the subway than undertake the nightmare of Manhattan driving with Manhattan taxi drivers. I also hate traffic congestion. And people like playing real-life Frogger. The subway is $2.25 now I think. Why bother to Zipcar?

Credit cards are my preferred method of payment. Credit cards are the best choice, as @nick pointed out, to protect against the risk of fraud, especially if you pay off the entire thing every month.

Premium gasoline is worth the extra cost if your car doesn't require it. Eh, I don't think it was my imagination, but my car seemed to run better on premium.

Organic farmers should receive additional federal subsidies.

Supply and demand in the labor market should determine the pay rate for a given job. It breeds an environment where the entertainment industry can make millions and teachers can make $25k/yr, but it's the only way it could possibly work that wouldn't cause economic collapse. Unless of course we destroyed the concept of money entirely and went back to lives of self sufficiency and grew our own food and owned our own land and instead did things for reasons other than greed or profit.

Location is the most important accommodation factor when traveling as a tourist. I think location is the closest to safest. I'd rather be in a safe area in a dirty expensive place than risk getting attacked. Not to say I'm worried about defending myself, but you know, getting robbed or defending against knives or guns isn't that fun.

The quality of Starbucks coffee does not merit the price. I like my lattes but they don't feel like they're worth five bucks.

I would feel secure renting an apartment online without third-party verification.

A Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree merits the cost. I want to grab one if I have the time one day. Always better to build on the knowledge of others than to start from scratch, but a blend of real world experience plus the knowledge is always three times as good.

Businesses do not have a social responsibility. I believe that businesses SHOULD have a social responsibility, but they don't have an intrinsic social responsibility. The business has a responsibility to its shareholders and the growth and advancement of the business, but businesses should refrain from unconscionable greed-driven acts and should maintain moral and ethical standards to which they would maintain a social responsibility.

Facebook is not worth the $15 billion valuation implied by Microsoft's investment.

Capitalism is the most effective economic system. I pick Capitalism out of the choices, but I'd have picked Anarchy (as in.. no system at all) if it was listed. Money is supposed to be merely be a medium for exchange, not fuel for economic structures designed to allow people to control each other. Honestly, I'll never understand why exploiting others and becoming more powerful on that blood is considered a positive thing in today's society. It's like hey, great, your country is wealthy built upon exploiting not just the poor of your own country, but the poor of other countries too. And when the wealthy become wealthier, it sure as hell doesn't trickle down. The wealthy continue to benefit themselves, the poor are disadvantaged, and then ya tell 'em to just work harder. Lol. Yes, I think that material wealth is an idiotic and self-destructive concept created by humanity as a folly, and I think that people forget that for someone to gain, something else has to lose, because you know, stuff doesn't come from nowhere. But that on a philosophical level might be a little too confusing for some.

The MTA fare hikes are not justified. Given the amount of lines they're cutting and reducing service across the board the increase is not justified at all. I'd understand maybe five cents, given the millions of commuters, but fifty and then over a twenty dollar increase on monthly?

The government should not allow large banks to fail. Are people serious? Credit is the lifeline of businesses and economic growth. How could our economy survive without the large banks? How would you buy a house, or a car, or get student loans for your kids to go to college?

The proposed 90% tax on AIG bonuses is not constitutional.

JetBlue is the low-cost U.S. airline I prefer to fly with. Ninja Cat officially endorses JetBlue for friendliest service, great rates, cool brand potato chips, and nice seats. Oh and the JetBlue terminal at JFK is cool too.

Microsoft retail stores will not effectively compete with Apple.

The Glass-Steagall Act should be reinstated.

Pepsi's new logo is better. Shrug.. I like it. Looks better, cleaner, crisper, except it's misleading; reminds me of a sports drink now even though it's a carbonated sugar demon.

Fractional reserve banking should be abolished. Fractional reserve banking is FRAUD. You're lending money and charging interest on money that doesn't exist. It's also deceptive practices because consumers don't know that the bank is lending out their money and profiting off of the interest. It's prepos

The economic stimulus plan should not include a 'Buy American' provision.

Executives of publicly traded companies should be required to disclose health conditions to shareholders. It's important that the business be able to make appropriate decisions if need be, especially if major positions will be left vacant for undisclosed or undetermined amounts of time.

I rate Jim Cramer's stock picks on Mad Money, "Unsatisfactory."

Public investment should have a higher priority than tax cuts in Barack Obama's stimulus package.

Employers should monitor employee Internet access in the workplace. If a company is paying for the Internet for business usage then it'd probably like to know it was being used for that. As long as the power isn't being abused, of course.

The U.S. recession will last throughout 2009.

Japan makes the most reliable cars.

There should not be an international central bank.

Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts will not boost the housing market.

Unions should be permitted to strike.

Congress should increase the cap on federally insured bank deposits. Dude, our well being is secured by their notes. Their notes have to have value.

The financial crisis will lead to another economic depression. Let's all get drunk and party! They say when you hit the bottom you can only go up.

Governments should infuse capital directly into failing banks as part of their response to the financial crisis. It's not really a yes or no answer. It depends on the circumstances.

Cutting corporate tax rates is not an effective method of creating jobs. Find me a lot of business owners who will say yes. Note - I am saying no.

The Treasury Department should block severance packages for Fannie and Freddie corporate executives.

AIG should have been bailed out by the federal government. It is what it is. We're all in this together.

Market speculation is having the greatest impact on rising oil prices. The traders are having the -greatest- impact. Supply & Demand of course has some impact, but not as much.

The federal government is most responsible for the current financial crisis. Everyone played a role, but it was the government's deregulation that allowed this to happen. It could've been prevented.