02/24/09 CA Budget Crisis Interview

I chose to interview my older brother Anders Aguirre. He is 25 years old and a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. In 2007, he was honorably discharged after serving 4 years in the military, 6 months of this time was spent in Iraq in the Al Anbar providence. After life as a Marine, he became a full-time student at University of Phoenix online. In addition to this, he is a full-time dad and husband and up until 2 days ago, worked full-time at a fiberglass manufacturing company. I chose to interview him because not only do I look up to him and value his opinion, but he got caught in the middle of this all. When he left to join the Marines, California wasn’t in the crisis it is in now. And now, it is the reason why he lost his job.

Elena Aguirre: How has the California Budget crisis impacted your life, if at all?
Andres Aguirre: After being discharged from the military, I wanted to pursue a career as a California State Correctional Officer. However, due to the budget crisis, I cannot apply for any state jobs because the state is in a hiring freeze. Also, last Wednesday I went into work. They told me they couldn’t afford to employ me any further because the state budget crisis stopped all construction and re-construction of buildings.
E.A.: How has this affected your personal life?
A.A.: Well, no one is hiring right now which means no money. More importantly, my wife and two kids won’t have any medical, dental or vision insurance. That means I’m going to have to seek medical through the state. Also, this means I have to file for unemployment because I know that no one is going to hire anymore.
E.A.: Do you feel that the new proposal puts California on the road to recovery?
A.A.: I think in order for the economy to get better, we are going to have to do it ourselves. Everyone is complaining that they have no money, but the reality is this budget crisis is affecting millions. If we want the state’s economy, we have to give back for taking so much. Californians can’t just expect the economy to get better on its own; therefore anyway the state needs to cut corners, for now we just have to bite the bullet until the crisis is over.