2/24/09 Interview Transcription

For my interview about the California budget, I decided to interview my friend Omar Aziz and how the new California budget was going to affect him and his family. He seemed to know a lot more about this than I did.
AH: What do you think about the new budget being passed?
OA: This is definitely something that is good for the state of California. At first people might be against it because of taxes and I know California will save millions of dollars in this year alone.

AH: How does this effect you?
OA: Since I go to a state college, there is a good chance the tuition will increase for next semester and if the budget helps us get better jobs which pay more then it shouldn't be a problem but that is something I am not looking forward to.

AH: Has anyone else in your family been effected by California's huge deficit or the economy?
OA: My mom was laid off a couple months ago from her job working in a tire factory and I am pretty sure that is because of the economy but it was a good thing I do not live with my parents anymore so they don't have to waste any of their money on me anymore.

AH: How long do you think it will take California to get rid of the deficit?
OA: I don't know if California will be able to take care all of the money problems it has but we should see improvement in our economy within a year or so.

2/24/09 Newspaper Article Summary

I am not someone who is big on politics or follows the news very closely. So I tried to piece together what it means to finally have the California budget pass. First of all this means a tax increase to make up the $42 billion budget and also spending reductions and revenue increases. California will also borrow money which I don't understand how that is going to help. The term "ugly budget" was used and although it is not a perfect solution, it keeps people working. There was a struggle between the Republicans and Democrats over passing the budget and the Democrats needed at least one Republican to vote for the budget to pass. The Republicans are against budget mostly because of the tax increases and finally Senator Abel Maldonado voted for it.



http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/19/news/economy/california_budget/index.htm

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2/17/09 Inaugural Address

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I like this type of class more than the old fashion way one since I'm on my laptop and surfing the web anyways so this will be a lot easier to get homework done. I have never used any of these two sites before but it looks pretty straight forward and easy to get accustomed to. It's kind of weird to have others read your writing and that is the probably the only part I don't like.

Journal 2/12/09

Things I would like to write about: Sports, economy, school, lives, living conditions in various places, government, tv shows, race, video games, world leaders.