Interview Project - Reflection

The interview project was definitely an interesting way to find out my dad's, my aunt's, and even my own views of the economy.  You get too not only see different peoples views based upon their opinions but you can see their opinions based upon the time period they grew up in.  I was not able to interview the oldest person i have a relationship with but i was able to get my aunt, my dad, and myself.

My Dad is a very intelligent man, he is always up to date with everything that is going on around the world. He is a great when it comes to saving his money and using it purchase what is necessary and what is not.  In his interview, he told me that he was mostly effected economically by the stock market crash and the housing bubble.  To be honest, I am very close to my Dad and I never noticed a change in the way he went about life when these events occurred.  He never showed weakness because he is a very hard working man and told me that even though he was effected by these events he pushed himself that much harder to earn back what he had lost.  My dad also mentioned that in his lifetime the price of cars has doubled.  I cannot even imagine going shopping for a new car and only paying fifteen grand for a brand new car because now a days you are paying upwards of thirty grand for a good car that is brand new.

My aunt (48) who is two years younger then my father obviously grew up in the same time period as my dad but experienced different economic events due to where she grew up.  My aunt had mentioned that the one thing that was a big economic change for her was the increase in the price of gas.  She grew up in central Massachusetts, which is very rural so to get to places you need to drive a good distance.  Unlike my Dad who grew up just outside of Boston, where he did not rely much on a car for travel, as he used other means of transportation like buses and trains. My aunt also mentioned that with the economy being the way it is now a days she has to be very cautious when spending money. Which agrees with what my Dad had said.

When I went over the question with myself, I really had to think about it.  I'm young still, so the economic event have not really affected me as much as my Dad and my Aunt.  But I have still seen enough change to know that the economy is not very strong right now.  The one change I have noticed is the gas prices.  Before last summer gas was at a low $3.00.  By the end of the summer the price had risen to just about $4.00 a gallon.  And being a college student you dont necessarily have that much money, so paying for gas definitely burnt a hole in my pocket.

As I look at all three interviews, it is clear that everyone has been affected by the economy throughout their lives in one way or another.  It was very interesting to see the different answers, I feel as though I learned a lot from this assignment and it has made me want to become more knowledgeable in economics and even global news.

Interview Project

DAD

My age is _50__________________

My gender is: (circle one)                                                   

Male                                          Female                                                      

Please make a mark in the box indicating your agreement with the following statements Mark “not applicable” if you cannot answer the question given your experience with the course so far.	strongly disagree	disagree	neutral	agree	strongly agree	Not applicable
The government should regulate the economy	X
Politics has a major influence on the economy				X
Everyone should take an economics class in high school					X
The drinking age should be lowered to 18	X
The government bailouts worked	X
The United States should have a higher minimum wage		X
In 6 months the economy will be better than today	X
I am well informed about economic news					X
The recession personally affected me					X

Ask everyone the following 8 questions:

1.     In your lifetime, what city that you are familiar with has changed the most (both positive and negative)? Washington, DC

2.     In your opinion, what president had the biggest positive impact on the economy? In my lifetime - Ronald Reagan Why? He governed with the philosophy that allowed economy to flourish with less gov’t intervention…free trade/free market to grow the economy.

3.     What is your first memory of a major economic event impacting your life? The gas crisis in the 1970’s. What economic event in your lifetime had the biggest impact on you? The housing bubble burst/stock market crash of 2008.

4.     What tradeoffs in your life have you made due to economics (note to interviewer/student: this question is about the concept of scarcity)? Downsize discretionary spending, to ensure enough for fixed expenses.

5.     How do you get economic news? New radio and cable TV news.  How has this changed over your life? Previously via newspapers during younger years until I learned about the bias towards the left wing of politics realizing I was not getting a balanced view.

6.     How do you deal will rising prices e.g. substitute cheaper brand, stop buying? Buy what is necessary and shop when sales/discounts are available. Any examples? Christmas season sales are strategic to large savings.

7.     What product or service has most changed over your lifetime? Cost of vehicles have doubled…cost of gas…real estate values…college education…all of these!

8.     How do you handle saving and how has this changed? Budget for large cost items vs. impulse buying and more informed shopping to ensure highest quality for dollars spent, especially on big items.

Choose 2 of the following questions (or create your own):

1.     What product or service has had the biggest price change in your life? Real Estate.

2.     What was your personal best year? Approx 1997-1998 How was the country doing? Well, as political parties on economic issues were meeting in the center to get this accomplished.

3.     What age were you when you got your first credit card? 1985…just out of college

4.     What was the price of gas when you got your first car? 1985…guessing about $1.25-$1.50/gallon

5.     How much does the stock market affect your life? It impacts my investment portfolio & 401K with regards to retirement planning with enough assets to live comfortably.

6.     What was your wage at your first job? Post college, 1985 = $15,800

AUNT

My age is_____48______________

My gender is: (circle one)                                                   

Male                                          Female                   x                                 

Please make a mark in the box indicating your agreement with the following statements Mark “not applicable” if you cannot answer the question given your experience with the course so far.	strongly disagree	disagree	neutral	agree	strongly agree	Not applicable
The government should regulate the economy			x
Politics has a major influence on the economy				x
Everyone should take an economics class in high school					x
The drinking age should be lowered to 18		x
The government bailouts worked		x
The United States should have a higher minimum wage		x
In 6 months the economy will be better than today		x
I am well informed about economic news				x
The recession personally affected me				x

Ask everyone the following 8 questions:

1.     In your lifetime, what city that you are familiar with has changed the most (both positive and negative)? Boston

2.     In your opinion, what president had the biggest positive impact on the economy? Why?  Regan – turned the economy around

3.     What is your first memory of a major economic event impacting your life? What economic event in your lifetime had the biggest impact on you? Stock market loss

4.     What tradeoffs in your life have you made due to economics (note to interviewer/student: this question is about the concept of scarcity)?  Can’t think of any

5.     How do you get economic news? How has this changed over your life? Fox News

6.     How do you deal will rising prices e.g. substitute cheaper brand, stop buying? Any examples? Shop around for best prices.

7.     What product or service has most changed over your lifetime?  Gasoline

8.     How do you handle saving and how has this changed?  More cautious as to how savings are invested

Choose 2 of the following questions (or create your own):

1.     What product or service has had the biggest price change in your life? gasoline

2.     What was your personal best year? How was the country doing?

3.     What age were you when you got your first credit card? 22

4.     What was the price of gas when you got your first car?

5.     How much does the stock market affect your life?

6.     What was your wage at your first job?

MYSELF

My age is_______19____________

My gender is: (circle one)                                                   

Male                                          Female                                                      

Please make a mark in the box indicating your agreement with the following statements Mark “not applicable” if you cannot answer the question given your experience with the course so far.	strongly disagree	disagree	neutral	agree	strongly agree	Not applicable
The government should regulate the economy		x
Politics has a major influence on the economy				x
Everyone should take an economics class in high school				x
The drinking age should be lowered to 18		x
The government bailouts worked		x
The United States should have a higher minimum wage		x
In 6 months the economy will be better than today		x
I am well informed about economic news			x
The recession personally affected me				x

Ask everyone the following 8 questions:

1.     In your lifetime, what city that you are familiar with has changed the most (both positive and negative)? Taunton, MA

2.     In your opinion, what president had the biggest positive impact on the economy? Why? Barrack Obama, ever since he has been in office the percentage of college grads who get jobs has been on a downward fall.

3.     What is your first memory of a major economic event impacting your life? The real estate market went to shambles.  What economic event in your lifetime had the biggest impact on you?  The stock market crash, It took a toll on my parents and on myself.  My dad almost lost his job and I couldn’t find a summer job because there was literally nothing at all.

4.     What tradeoffs in your life have you made due to economics (note to interviewer/student: this question is about the concept of scarcity)? I need to be conservative with gas and can’t be driving around everywhere.

5.     How do you get economic news? How has this changed over your life? I watch the news read Internet articles. I grew up with these sources so it hasn’t changed.

6.     How do you deal will rising prices e.g. substitute cheaper brand, stop buying? Any examples? Like I said before I use my gas conservatively.

7.     What product or service has most changed over your lifetime? The only thing I can think of is the prices of gas.

8.     How do you handle saving and how has this changed.  I just try not to spend very much money when I get my paychecks.  I buy what is necessary and save the rest.

Choose 2 of the following questions (or create your own):

1.     What product or service has had the biggest price change in your life? Gas

2.     What was your personal best year? How was the country doing? 

3.     What age were you when you got your first credit card?

4.     What was the price of gas when you got your first car?

5.     How much does the stock market affect your life?

6.     What was your wage at your first job?  $8.40 / hour