California Budget Cuts/Crisis Interview

I chose to interview my dad because he is a business owner and is always talking about the economic crises we are in. He sees first hand every day how this impacts business owners and everyone else.

Nick Becker: What do you think of the new California state budget?

Todd Becker: The budget has it's faults like any other economic plan but for the most part it seems to set California at least back on the right track to recovery. It's massive cuts in education and transportation are scary to think about but i think if we can just tough it out for a year or maybe a few years things will get better.

Nick Becker: Do you see this impacting you in anyway when the budget is passed into law? Or has it impacted you already?

Todd Becker: Well, i have a son in school who will suffer the education cuts and the public transportation cuts. I personally will suffer because of the rise in tuition from the school since i pay for some of his schooling. My business as a sharpener of tools and blades for many companies has suffered. While i am always busy i have had to decrease my prices and have seen many big companies either majorly downsize or totally go under. I constantly hear about how this crisis we are in is the worst people have ever seen. It's a little scary.

Nick Becker: If you were Governor of California what would you include in this budget? What would you cut?

Todd Becker: I would try to follow the example of the stimulus plan that was just passed. Obama's idea about rebuilding roads, buildings, schools seems to be a good one in my opinion. Get as many people back to work as possible. Tax cuts for the lower and middle class and tax increases in the higher class would seem to be a good idea as well. The "trickle down" theory of the Bush years hasn't seemed to work so something new like that would be nice to see. Investing in education and encouraging more people to become teachers is also a plan i would take. I would cut funds for unemployment benefits and welfare. I would also make cuts in parks, the environment, military spending, science funding. Anything not absolutely necessary.

Rhetorical Strategies

Obama uses some of these rhetorical strategies during his keynote address for the Democratic Convention:

• Point of View- His view of the united states is one of hope. He gives people the confidence in this view by siting examples of his own life and the life of his father.
  
• Assumptions- I don't think he makes any assumptions in this speech. He tends to back up everything he says. He makes a very persuasive argument. 
• Evidence- His life and the life of people he knows, examples play a key part in this speech to deliver his message. 
• Argument- He argues that John Kerry will bring change to the US and bring it out of it's "long political darkness."
• Persuasion- He tries to persuade people by making it seem like this is the most important moment in their lifetime. That if they do nothing this world will remain in darkness. He uses hope and fear at the same time. 

Politics Summery

The article "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama is a script of his keynote address st the 2004 Democratic Convention. He talks of uniting American through the one similarity we all have here; being Americans. He talks of not blue or red states, but purple states that can live together. This was his starting moment in becoming president. This is where people started to notice him. His confidence in America seemed to make people love him. His message of uniting filled people with hope.