What Really Matters for Election 2008

[Rogelio X Gutierrez]

Rogelio X Gutierrez


My Interview was with Gustavo (Gus) Childs he is a co-worker of mine in the work-study program. When I questioned Gus about what the most important issue for him this coming Election. He responded with the economy as the biggest concern for him .The reason is he is a full time student working in the work-study program. As a full time student finances are a big issue. Gus used as an example when he goes grocery shopping at H.E.B. that his bill has gone up between $50-$70 a month.

Gus is a 21 year old male he is 5’7 with an average build, he originally is from Pleasanton and moved to San Antonio about a year ago to attend SAC. His major is Radiology and probably plans to transfer to St Philips. When I asked him what race was, He stated, “ I’m a Blacksican”. He states his father was Hispanic and passed away when he was very young; so mostly his mother who is a proud Black woman raised Gus. Gus attended Pleasanton High School he was an athlete who played Football, Basketball and Track. Gustavo has two brothers and currently lives with one of his brothers here in San Antonio. They live in an apartment together and share the bills. He commutes to school using Via Transportation and is a very dedicated student and hard worker. Also for you ladies he also sates he is single and available.

Overall Gus was mostly concerned with how the economy affects almost everything that
we do. To validate this I found this article on KSAT’s website
http://www.ksat.com/money/16120039/detail.html stating, “The rising price of groceries
is not only hitting home, it's hitting schools too. Now, some San Antonio school districts
are looking at raising prices in their cafeterias for next school year”. Now if big
Organizations like school districts are feeling the pinch the affect on the individual can be
overwhelming. Gus also states, “If people have to worry about food they are not doing
their job and the Government is slacking.” Gus feels very strongly about the economy
and lived with most of life struggling with the economy. Single parent family was hard
on them: their mother was on disability so their funds were limited. So this was a topic
close to his heart, but I feel that this struggle has made his ambitions stronger and will do
very well for him.

[Christopher t]

A lot of my friends in college is having the same problems as Gus, it's a wide spread problem for families that don't have too much money. One of my personal friends is having a really problem financially and he has his hands tied down with staples because he has to take out loans just to stay a float. His family is low-income and he lost his job a couple weeks ago, and still searching, he basically has the same views as Gus. Overall, I now see that more and more people are suffering because of the economy.

[Anna]

I think that that was a good issue he picked because as us people who are living paycheck to paycheck it's really hard for us with the economy right now. As me and my husband work and I have two children we still dont get no help and we dont qualify for no help but yet there are those people who dont want to work and get all the help they want. I think that those who can work should work, because you have those who are lazy and just want to live off of the government. Like the person you interviewed i bet they didn't get any help because there mom was disabled so they had to live off of the paycheck the mom got. But it is hard to go shopping with the prices of grocery going up.

[John Suchy]

Roger like always, your essay was excellent. You really gave me passion and sympathy towards this young man Gus with the information that you provided about him, being raised with only one parrent. I can deffidently relate to him. I also enjoyed reading about what he had to say about the economy.“If people have to worry about food they are not doing
their job and the Government is slacking.” This quote say's a lot about what he really thinks towards the government. Im pretty sure that raising prices of food in schools will not bring our big nation out of financial debt. It almost seems that the government is doing nothing but trying to take a dollar out of everyones pocket! Roger, I also liked how you explained the issue/concern being close to the heard of gus because of his life struggles/experiences. Great essay big Rog!

[Alysa]

This issue is a problem for most families, including mine. We have 7 people to feed and as our bill gets bigger and bigger, we have begun to wonder when the rising numbers will stop. I think the rising food prices are part of the bigger problem of the economic hardship. People everywhere are feeling the crunch. However, I wouldn't say that it is the government's fault that our food bill is going up. The market is a wild card entity, it has its' rising times as well as its' falls. It's the way it has always been, people will complain, fret, and worry but eventually, everything will balance itself out. Hopefully, the next president will have a solid game-plan to help begin to bring this stability about.

[mbowman15]

I feel for Gus and I understand what he is going through. I am a full time student that works full time as well. The economy scares me to death because of how unstable it is and how much it is going to effect the younger generations to come. Our parents have left us with a weak and unstable economy and it is up to us to fix this. Something must be done soon otherwise America is in danger. We can’t survive in today’s society with the big dogs of the world if our economy is weak. We have been a front runner of the world for a long time and I would like for it to stay that way.

[Jackie]

I think that any college student can agree with this, the economy is going down and something needs to happen. It gets harder and harder every semester for me to figure out how im going to pay for things when i am constantly worrying about books and tuiton and food. I think every family is finding it hard to balance money and the nesseceties in life. I personally see it all the time with my friend, he is living paycheck to paycheck trying to help out his mom pay simple things like grocreries, this is effecting his ability to go to school, without money for tuition and books he finds it impossible to get through school. I definitly agree with any issue that deals with the economy and i think it is the most important and i hope whoever gets elected can finally put an end to it and hopefully get us out of the direction of a depression.

[Jared Nichols]

yeah this is a pretty big problem. i feel that thats also a big problem. So the groceries already being one thing to add the bills he pays, think of all the things that cost more that are just adding to that. Gas, electricity, water; prices raising in all, like anna says living from paycheck to pay check can be hard. If prices are going up in your living neceseties and your in a position where you arent able to make anymore money then you run in the problem of not being able to afford to live

[Felicia Cortez]

Response # 4

I feel where gus is coming from i am also a full time student and i work full time and its still hard for me to make ends meet thank god i have my mother to help me when i need the help. But economy is so unstable that i fear for my job and i fear that when it's all said and done some of us will not even be able to afford to live a normal life. Overall the point of the matter is that we will continue to suffer unless a change is made.

[James A Church]

I most deffinantly feel for Gus. Hard times have hit and they continue to hit somemore. Gas was high at first and now groceries where increased also. Times are hard when jobs are being cut or wages are being lowered then prices of goods still increase.