July 24, 2009
Four For Friday
Q1 - Familiar: If you see someone who looks familiar to you but can't exactly place their face, do you approach the person and strike up a conversation (in an attempt to figure out if and how you know them), or do you simply move on and try not obsess about it?
Q2 - Claim: Direct-response marketers (i.e., infomercials producers) told a Congressional panel this week that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shouldn't attempt to change advertising rules currently allowing atypical testimonial claims to appear in their ads. As you've likely seen for yourself, infomercial advertisers who cannot substantiate atypical claims made in their own commercials are allowed to "disclaim" the statements in fine print or superscript that appears at the bottom of the screen (e.g., "Results May Vary" and "Results Not Typical"). The FTC has proposed removing the loop hole allowing disclaimers, and making all advertisers responsible for ensuring that consumers are not misled by ads in their entirety. Do you support the FTC's proposed change or is this just another example of government regulation gone wild?
Q3 - Wages: The federal minimum wage on Friday rose to $7.25 from $6.55. Do you think $7.25 is an appropriate amount to mandate for the federal minimum wage? If not, what amount do you think is appropriate and why?
Q4 - Observe: The longest total solar eclipse of the century took place this week, sweeping total darkness east from the Ganges River in India all the way over to southern Japan and then off into the near east reaches of the Pacific Ocean. In some areas, according to published reports, the eclipse lasted as long as six minutes and 39 seconds, the likes of which will not be seen again anywhere on Earth until the year 2132. If you could safely observe one natural phenomenon that you have never seen before in person, what would it be?
Posted by Mikal at July 24, 2009 11:19 PM
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1- I generally let it go.
2- I don't think it should necessarily be the government's job, as this is in theory a free market economy. I do think the advertising practices they are targeting are pretty despicable though.
3- Minimum wage is another government program I can't say I can really get behind, especially not at a federal level. Raising the minimum wage is just a statement of the lost value of the dollar.
4- I'd like to see a volcanic eruption.
Q1: Depends on who it is. If I care about connecting with the person and am reasonably certain the person is who I think she or he is, then I will approach.
Q2: If you are going to hold companies accountable for the claims they make, then you'd better allow disclaimers. These disclaimers allow companies to be more precise in describing what their products and services can and cannot do.
Q3: $7.25 is a pittance. I'd say that's okay for kids who are working for spending money, but if the worker is over 21 and independant, their minimum should be higher. I vote for $15 an hour. They should also set a maximum wage to help control the inflation that will be no doubt caused by my minumum wage hike.
Q4: I observed the previous total solar eclipse in Oaxaca, Mexico in 1991. At the time, everyone was saying that the next one wouldn't occur until 2009. Back then, 2009 sounded distant. To answer your question, though, I'd say a tornado.
Late to the game, but better than never!
Q1 - Familiar: I usually move on because a) Almost every person I see looks familiar to me and b) I have a bad memory and would not wish to embarrass myself by not being able to remember who the person is or how I ever knew them.
Q2 - Claim: I do not support the change. Even though some of the claims are off the wall, I think if a claim is true they ought to be able to say as much without worrying about harassment from the gov.
Q3 - Wages: I think the market should mandate minimum wage.
Q4 - Observe: I love space, so I would kill to watch a star's entire life cycle (time lapse of course), particularly expansion to a red giant, super nova explosion, and collapse to white dwarf/neutron star/black hole with all the spewing jets of cosmic material. It's been said that Betelgeuse, in the Orion constellation, is our best chance of ever seeing a red giant go supernova so close (relatively) to Earth. I look at it almost every night hoping that it has and the light of that magnificent explosion is finally reaching us.
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