Politics is More than Elections, but now it doesn't look like it.

The papers are full with election news. The word "candidate" is one of the most often used. Clinton, Obama, Romney, Guiliani, McCain... it's all over the place. Number and number about who leads where and which politics give them advantage or lead here or there. Okay, here comes the presidential elections, good. "Democracy". Yupi. But what flies around are the tags, the lables, not the actual ideas, and even so, these are campaing promises. To back up my words, I checked the sites of some of the candidates to see how they intend to attack the ill they denounce and which they promise to set straight. Take the case of Ms. Clinton. You go to her site Hillary for President, and check in any of the topics she talks about. I went for the one that interests me the most: health care. There were words but no action. A few pointers looking like action, but nothing "actually" pointing at how this will be made work and how will it be good.

Lets not forget that whatever bill she wants to pass will have to be aproved and voted by the Congress, so the health plan might be a big fiasco. But then again: where are the great "wastes" of resources in health care from which she will pull enough money to cover her unlikely, haphazardly plan?

People forget that in times of elections and campaings the world keeps going, and the problems are not gone. If they weren't able to demand a human, respectful, decent health care, why would they get one any better? Specially when it all goes based on the same crap they have now, only with the promise of becoming "cheaper" though there are no data aboout how cheaper will it be (it sounds like those $600 computers which actually need +$1000 to do the basic things you need them to do...) with the promise of "modernization", which no one knows what it stands for, and higher quality. Dude, modernization means it will be made modern, and modern means only that it will be new, not that it will be better. It's not said that it will be "improved", only that it will be "modernized". That can mean that the notifications will arrive by e-mail.

After you read and freeze in horror at the load of nothing fed by Mr. Clinton to the American People, you go to the site of Mr. Obama, and what do you see? I though I did something wrong, because it's a copycat of Ms. Clinton's site. Went to healthcare to do some comparisons, and it's all the same! The same plans, the same actions and the same lack of definition. Okay, Obama does say he will pass as a law that every American should be covered by a health care plan, but what kind and how will it work? The same blank filled with deaf word used by Clinton. I wonder, is it that the Democrat Party gives its candidates a template? Win on looks because we are all doing the same... and in the same way. Disappointing to say the least. And meanwhile people is out there suffering, and what does the current presindent do? Nothing. He's playing with his toy soldiers, hiding from people asking him whatthe heck is wrong with the economy.

There was an article yesterday about America falling into recession and how hard it was to determinate how long would it take to get out of it, or how deep would it fall. Some say the recession started in December, some won't even acknowledge it, sure that the Government is still in time to fix it and save them all. Okay, lemme give you some pointers:

1. The start of the war in 2001 was an attempt to find a way to reactivate the economy, which was falling since the late 90's.
   
2. The war goes on, eats up the budget and the country sinks
3. The war is made the most important issue on the table and so the rest is left to fall into pieces.
4. Tax cutting: from where will the Government have money?
5. Tax cutting, social programs cutting. No wonder.

In economics we have seen through history that after wars a depression is expected, but then a great economical expansions come. Now, when there's a war, all the money and resources are focused to the war, so money stops flowing to other activities. That's why in times of war a lot of stuff becomes harder to get, or much more expensive. There's no money either for imports, and exports drop due to the fact that no one is producing. When the war is over, well, people will have to go back to the old, if it hadn't been destroyed, and start all over again. Things will still hard to get for a while, because food and products don't spring out of the thin air. Many enterprises might not be able to open again, and so those that depended of them will have to find new sources. Add to it, there will be people coming back from the front that will need to get a job again. After a time of war with no money, the enterprises will have no workers and no money to hire people. People will be out there with no jobs no money and no chances to get a new job because no one will be hiring. Since there will be no one to hire because there's no money, guess what? There will be nothing to sell, and then again, no money to hire people.

How can the economy be reactivated? Well, the Government should aid the people by helping the enterprises with afordable loans, and extending people different aids to feed and find jobs. If you see, the Government is to make a social activity: help people and enterprises stand up again on their feet. Making a war is not nearly enough, nor the solution to improve an economical situation.

It's nice that some stuff about this is considered in the campaigns, but it's sad that it's all treated so superficially, so uninterestingly, using big, pleasing words while saying nothing concrete. Of course, no one wishes to compromise. You promise and promise to get the votes, but your promises are hollow. You are really promising nothing because you intend to do nothing of what you are promising. And meanwhile, the country is left in a limbo, rolling around and suffering, waiting from now for the next elections as if their needs could be turned off for these months.

Politics is not only about elections, is about everyday, about decisions that seek the greater good. It seems, though, that this is no longer the idea behind politics.