RS Interview Project Reflection

This blog post is a reflection of my post on the Interview Project.

When we were first told about this project, I did an internal groan. C’mon Engel, are you really going to make me ask people questions about economics? But as we discussed the assignment further, I got a bit more into it. I realized this was more of a survey than an economics test I was to proctor to two other innocent, unassuming individuals, and myself. The questions were actually really interesting and I was starting to get really interested in what the others answers might be.

When I answered the questions myself, it wasn’t too much of a big deal. I mean, this information was nothing new to me obviously, so it was more of a reflection on how I really felt.

When I asked these questions first to Tony, a 56 year old piano teacher, I was really excited. I’ve known Tony for a year now, he’s a member at the gym where I work, and we always have interesting conversations on history, econ, politics, etc. From what I have taken in from him, he’s super intelligent and knows a lot more than he lets on since most of the time he covers up his intelligence with jokes.  I knew his answers wouldn’t be anything close to “predictable” and that’s why I chose him. The most interesting thing he talked about was the Gas Crisis of 1974, when there was an oil/gas “shortage”, making gas prices sky rocket, and causing long lines at the gas station and the act of getting gas to be more of a times event then something you did casually. He told me specifically to write shortage in quotations because he says there wasn’t a shortage at all, but just a myth of it to increase spending on gasoline. He told me of how during this crisis, his older brother would give him a five dollar bill, and tell him he could take the car out only if he filled up the tank first. With a five dollar bill. Some crisis, huh? If I could fill up my tank for five dollars during this economy, I wouldn’t mind standing in line for 2 hours in my free time!

My second interviewee was a friend’s grandmother, Joanie. A former school teacher, I thought she would have lots of insight into the years where neither I nor my parents were even in existence yet. The most interesting thing she said was how minimum wage was one dollar an hour during the time she got her first job. I can’t even imagine working 8 hours a day and getting less than 8 dollars of a paycheck after taxes. It’s funny how inflation hits us, especially with gas prices. Joanie paid less than twenty cents a gallon! That sounds amazing because I’m comparing it to the over four dollar a gallon price that I’m paying now! Although, I’m sure that price was considered expensive back then too, especially while making one dollar an hour. I also found it interesting how within her 72 years of life, her first memory of economics affecting her life was quite recently, within the past 10 years of the war in the Middle East.