You don’t need me to tell you times are tough, one flip of the television dial or a quick glance at your supermarket shelves should provide enough info as to how bad the U.S economy is getting. What you may not know is that all around the world companies are and consumers are facing some the worst economic conditions is recent memory. As prices increase and more and more people attempt to hold on to their hard earned cash, new ways of generating income are popping up all over. Which leads me to the tale of Tama The Super Stationmaster.

Tama was nothing more than a simple alley cat living next to a grocery store and a train station in Kishikawa Japan when looking for a way to generate interest in their failing train station, Wakayama Electric decided to make Tama their official mascot. All it took was one poster featuring the feline wearing a engineer’s hat and suddenly the Wakayama and the surrounding town found themselves the newest tourist attraction in Japan. Apparently as word spread about the famous Tama Super Stationmaster, so did the number of people just itching to get a glimpse at the tabby. Hence not only are tourists flocking to the area in hordes, in all total some experts estimate that the little alley cat with the hat is pumping over $10 million a year into the local economy; a feat that is leaving many who were afraid of loosing everything purring with joy. As for Tama Super Stationmaster life is better than every as she is treated like a queen and lives at the station with her mother.