Culture For The Non-Cultured

It is no news that the MTA is in a budget crisis, and I don’t know about you, but my wallet is feeling empathy pains.

I read in the Gothamist blog that MTA’s counterpart in Japan reversed their own similar dire economic straits, thanks to a calico cat named Tama.  It seems that in Japan, cats are considered good luck, and, as the Gothamist quotes from an Associated Press article, 

All the 9-year-old female cat does is sit by the entrance of Kishi Station in western Japan, wearing a black uniform cap and posing for photos for the tourists who are now flocking in droves from across the nation. 

Tama has been doing such a good job of raising revenue for the troubled Kishikawa train line that she was recently promoted to “super-station-master.”

The train company also sells merchandise, including “a special 1,365 yen ($13) book of photos of Tama called, ‘Diary of Tama, the Station Master.’”

I wholeheartedly agree with the Gothamist that merchandising within the train stations themselves is an excellent idea.   And it would be cool if the MTA could adopt the idea before everyone starts having to spend their salary on their Metro cards. 

A cat mascot could work here, too.  It would be purr-fect (sorry, I couldn’t resist.  I LOVE puns.)

I could see a whole campaign around it that would get the city interested in the project.  There could be a competition to name the cat, similar to Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Zoo’s recent public vote to name their new-born kangaroo.  The cat would have its own YouTube page and MySpace page and Facebook profile.

The cat would belong to the city.

Cats are cheap and low-maintenance, and while Americans don’t believe cats can bring them luck, many adore them.

PLUS, cats get rid of rats, which are known to frequent the subways once in a while, eh?

So, whadya think?  Are ya with me?