What happened to compassionate Democrats?

I'm so disappointed in the two democratic candidates running for president. I'm sick to death of the snarky comments, the stupid attacks, and the lack of focus on issues. Real freaking issues that affect real freaking people. I'm tired of the candidates telling me they're 'just like us' while they're living in million dollar homes and never struggling to pay for food that keeps increasing in prices. When was the last time Hilary Clinton went to the Stop and Shop and filled up a cart with her weekly groceries? Um, yeah. Just like us.

But what I'm really ticked off about is health care. Both candidates pussy-foot around Universal Healthcare but neither of them are looking at how it is done successfully in other countries. I haven't heard one comparison to Switzerland, Germany, Taiwan, or Japan. The comparisons I do hear are to England and Canada, both systems based on a more socialist way of handling the health care for all their people. Not that I have a problem with socialism, because I don't. But I want candidates that I'm supposed to seriously support to at least KNOW why health care in Japan and Taiwan is so markedly cheaper than it is in the USA. Could it be because it's ILLEGAL for health insurance companies to be profitable? Yes, they have to be non-profit. Could it be because the government sets the rates for every single procedure in healthcare every year. So that healthcare is equitable for everyone, and it's cheap. Really cheap. Could it be because the drug companies aren't allowed to mark up their prices and are regulated by the government price setting mechanism? And that because the government buys the drugs in bulk, the prices are 1/4 of what they are in the USA. Hmmm, that might be a good idea.

But do you hear Obak Barama and Hillary Clinton talking about these thing? Nope, you don't. Because they're petrified of big business. They don't want to upset the apple cart. Health care in the USA will never change unless we look at what works internationally and emulate those programs that are successful. They need to look at the satisfaction rates kept by the various goverments and learn what works and what does not. They need to update their information of the waiting times for seeing doctors and receiving services in England, the country they are so fond of talking about. Because their information is outdated and plain old wrong.

I'm equally worried about the rise in food prices in the USA and internationally. Did you know that people are rioting around the world because they can no longer afford ANY food. Did you know that the people of Haiti just overthew their government after being forced to eat dirt and roots from the lack of food. And that the people of Mexico took to the streets because flour and corn prices have gone so sky high that they can't afford to make tortillas, a staple of their diet?

Much of the rise in food prices can be blamed on the price of oil, because so much of the food in the US is shipped in from around the world. Buying locally, growing your own 'victory garden' and ensuring that you purchase in bulk the foodstuffs that you use often are all ways to help keep your food prices down. But the best thing we can do is to recognize that global warming is causing droughts and very weird weather worldwide, thus afffecting the worldwide crops. In addition, we have to recognize that ethanol is NOT a viable way to change our reliance on gasoline in the US. Ethanol is made with corn, corn that is taken out of the food resources of the US. The more corn is refine for ethanol, the less corn we have to feed our cattle, and to use as an additive to our own food products. Now, I'm no fan of corn syrup, but we use it in a LOT of food products (Check that can of soda you're drinking) and it's continually rising costs affect the overall cost of food nationawide. Ditto for wheat. The more corn we grow, the more fields that could be growing other, more essential grains, are being used nor for wheat, but for corn. Hence the lack of flour in stores, and the extreme rise in prices. Ditto for eggs. What do factory farms feed chickens? Why, corn! Ouch.

But do we hear our democratic candidates address the rising cost of food and the way families have been forced to cut back on purchasing essential food in order to pay for their utilities? Do we hear the candidates address how factory farming is robbing the American people of essential foodstuffs? Do we hear candidates address that charitable giving is on the downturn as more and more people can not afford to help out the less fortunate, just as the government is cutting their own safety net programs locally and nationally? No, we don't.

We hear stupid comments, our media refuses to ask tough questions, and I'm totally sick of the whole thing.

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