Economic$ Interview$

Name: Emma Alexander

Period: 1 Due: Monday, Dec. 7th

Each of the 3 interviews are 25 points EACH

Assignment: Please conduct 3 interviews with people

that meet the criteria for each category.

Interviews can be done via phone, email, or in person.

Tips for your interview:

● Be respectful
● Do not leave this until the last minute. These interviews take time.
● Tell the person you are on a fact finding mission to learn more about our economy.
● Even if you disagree with the person, simply listen and record what they have to say.
● Make sure to write down answers for ALL of the questions if you want full points.
● When you are finished, make sure to thank them for their time.

Good luck, have fun, and get ready to LEARN!

I)INTERVIEW someone who IS on some type of government assistance. This person should be
receiving some type of aid from the government. It could be unemployment, welfare, food stamps
(SNAP), section 8 housing assistance, medicaid or Medi-Cal, Feeding Programs (WIC & CSFP), Low
Income Home Energy Assistance, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Supplemental Security Income
(SSI), Child Nutrition Program (CHIP), etc. They may have a job OR be unemployed.
Name of person: Matt Robinson

Occupation: former bartender (unemployed due to covid)

Signature of person interviewed: Matt Robinson
Question 1) What types of government assistance are you receiving? I have been on State
Unemployment since my job temporarily closed in March of this year due to the Covid
19 Pandemic. I received additional unemployment from the federal government until
it ran out in September. I have also received $240/month in CalFresh food stamps
since last month.

Question 2) How long have you been receiving government assistance? I’ve been on
unemployment Since March 2020, I’ve been on food stamps since November.
Question 3) How much longer do you plan on being on government assistance? I plan to
stay on government assistance as long as I need it, since jobs are scarce at the moment
I will probably require supplemental income from the state/federal government until
the business which I manage and bartend is allowed to re-open, likely after a Covid
vaccine is widely available.
Question 4) In your opinion, is what you are receiving enough or would you like to receive
more? Why or why not? In my opinion I do not receive enough at the moment. When the
bar in which I work at was first shut down I received $600/week from the Fed, and an
additional $160/week from the state of California; more than enough to survive on.
Honestly, probably much more than the average person makes for this area, which is
smart: once everything opens back up again it will help jumpstart the economy if
working class people have some expendable income. In August the Fed reduced its
assistance to $300/week, still plenty to survive on for this area. After September I
stopped receiving the additional $300/week from the fed and have been surviving on
regular state of California unemployment, $160/week plus my savings.

I think it’s reasonable to expect more money because I, like millions of other
Americans, am unemployed through no fault of my own. The Covid 19 pandemic is an
extraordinary and unforeseen circumstance caused - or at least exacerbated - by the
ineptitude of our own government, It’s wrong to let people suffer for it.
Question 5) Do you believe people receiving government assistance should have to submit to
drug tests? No, I guess I don’t. These are trying times, if my guy needs to blaze up let
the man do his thing.

Question 6) Do you believe people receiving government assistance should have to be

looking for a job? Under these extreme circumstances; no. We should be encouraging
people to stay home. It’s cruel to expect a high risk person to find a job and potentially
risk their life under threat of losing their livelihood. Under normal circumstances I
would say it depends on the individual.

Question 7) If the government could no longer afford the programs you are on what would
you do? This is a ridiculous question. Our government could easily afford to provide
stimulus to all unemployed Americans. We simply don’t prioritize the wellbeing of
American citizens over other things.

Question 8) You design a question to ask: What is something you would consider a waste
of tax dollars?
Answer to question 8) Spending $732 billion/year on our military is evil. Also all
Police and Sheriff’s Departments are completely expendable and should be defunded.
ACAB, f*** 12.

Either Ask or Predict which party the person tends to vote for: Democratic or Socialist
party

Reflect: If YOU were in this person's shoes, what would YOU do? I would continue on the
search for a new job while staying on government assistance. Usually I am against it,
but COVID19 has been especially destructive and has put intense financial strain on
most American citizens.
II)INTERVIEW someone who is NOT on government assistance and does NOT own their own
business or farm. This person should have a job and NOT receive government aid.
Name of person: Sarah Alexander

Occupation: private school teacher, 6th grade

Signature of person interviewed: Sarah Alexander
Question 1) How old were you when you had your first job? What was it? I was 12 and
delivered newspapers.

Question 2) About what percent of what you make is paid in taxes (including, Federal, State,
Property and Sales Taxes)? About 10%

Question 3) How do you feel about government programs that pay for peoples’
unemployment benefits, welfare, food, housing, healthcare, etc? I think these programs are
meant to help short term issues.

Question 4) Do you believe people receiving government assistance should have to submit to
drug tests ? Yes I do, I think we should help those with addiction issues but those who
are unwilling to get help should not be supported by the government.

Question 5) Should people on government assistance be required to be working or looking

for work? Yes, unless they are unable to work due to disabilities.

Question 6) You design a question to ask: Is there a certain cause that you would enjoy
seeing your tax dollars go towards?
Answer to question 6) I’d like to see my tax dollars go toward programs that help people
who are struggling get into trade jobs where they can support themselves instead of
allowing people to live off of programs, and many times manipulate those programs
for years and years.

Either Ask or Predict which party the person tends to vote for: Republican party

Reflect: If YOU were in this person's shoes, what would YOU do? If I was in this person’s
shoes I would be proud of myself for being self-sufficient and staying away from
addictive welfare programs. This is my mother and even when my sister and I were
kids and our family was dirt poor we were self sufficient and did whatever we could
to get by without any help.

III)INTERVIEW someone who is NOT on government assistance and OWNs their own business or farm.
Name of person: Elizabeth Alexander

Name of business or farm: Ethereal Embroidery

Signature of person interviewed: Elizabeth Alexander
Question 1) How old were you when you had your first job? What was it? I was 16, and I
was a childcare provider.
Question 2) About what percent of what you make is paid in taxes (including, Federal, State,
Property and Sales Taxes?) 0%
Question 3) How do you feel about government programs that pay for peoples’
unemployment benefits, welfare, food, housing, healthcare, etc? I believe that welfare
systems are beneficial for people who are genuinely in need. Some people take
advantage of the system, and I feel like the loopholes in the system need to be
resolved.

Question 4) When did you decide to open your own business? In 2018
Question 5) How many people do you employ? I run it myself, so it is just me. I am self
employed.
Question 6) What are two things that our government is doing that make it hard to run your
business? I can’t fully answer this question since I do not make enough to be
recognized as a professional business or taxed.

Question 7) What two things could our government do to make running a business less
difficult? I believe the government could give each small business a tax cut instead of
giving tax cuts to huge corporations. That way, money is more equally distributed and
we can watch our communities thrive and prosper on their own rather than watching
yet another Walmart or Target open up. I also think the government could start
breaking up borderline monopolies such as Amazon that are impossible to compete
with.
Question 8) What’s the best part of running your own business? Having control over
everything, including your own hours, prices, making your own policies, etc.
Question 9) What advice would you give to someone thinking about opening their own
business? I would tell them to be prepared for a few months of little to no income,
because starting up a small business is tough competition and it takes time to build a
portfolio and a community’s trust.
Question 10) What do you think many people don’t understand about people who own a
business? Not everyone who owns a business is rich at all. Also, that spending $50 at a
Walmart means nothing to an employee but spending $50 at a small business could
mean paying for someone’s groceries that week.
Question 11) You design a question to ask: What has your business taught you that has
changed your view of the world?
Answer to question 11) My business has taught me that publicity and local word of
mouth is a great advertiser for small businesses, and also that consumers can be
extremely entitled and generally exhausting to work with.
Either Ask or Predict which party the person tends to vote for: Moderate voter

Reflect: If YOU were in this person's shoes, what would YOU do? If I was in this person’s
shoes, I would continue with my business and expand to websites such as Etsy to
further promote my product. That way, I would be making good money doing
something I enjoy that I am also good at.