Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown Debate

Being a senior in high school and starting my applications to many of California's universities, I was very interests in Whitman and Brown's views regarding funding and tuition increases for public universities in California. I was somewhat disappointed in Brown's response to the question about whether or not he would roll back prices on fees and tuition. His answer seemed somewhat along the lines of that he cared about the university, but he cared about other causes more. I understand that on these tough times the government doesn't have a infinite budget to make public higher education more accessible, but I do feel like a higher education makes individuals more of contributors to society and would benefit the state in the long run. I was also very disappointed with Whitman's response. Hers was more like an infomercial and rather than answering the question, she seems to just repeat over and over that she wanted to "put Californians back to work". Overall, i was extremely unimpressed with both candidates responses.

page 84, questions 1 and 2

       From a very young age, my parents have been very open about discussing politics with me. The fact that they have many opposing views has given me a very well rounded point of view on American politics. Their open discussion and encouragement to share my opinions regarding political matters has motivated me to be more aware and thoughtful about what is going on in the world. For me, the repercussions of the so called "war on terror", along with my parents' political perspectives, have influenced me the most in my own political attitude.
       The reason my parents political persectives have had the most affect on me is because i respect and understand most of their decisions in life. They tend to be right much more often than i give them credit for, and this includes their thoughts and predictions in the world of politics as well.
      As far as outsourcing jobs to other countries, i think it is a terrible idea. Sending all our factory level or communications jobs to those in other countries eliminates a huge number of job opportunities to Americans that truly need them, making existing jobs even more competitive, and keeping many unemployed. While the companies doing the outsourcing may benefit from the lower wages they must pay their workers, they are taking away jobs from our country as a whole. Also, I feel that the workers doing the job would lack the quality of work that may be done in America. When someone is doing a job that is to benefit those living in a distant country, they may not feel as motivated as they would if they were doing something to benefit those in their own country, especially since they are probably being underpaid and overworked.