what people want

i started reading the audacity of hope by barack obama and in the prologue he talks about hitting the campaign trail for his run at senate and he writes about a common thread that noticed:

No blinding insights emerged from these months of conversation. If anything, what struck me was just how modest people's hopes were, and how much of what they believed seemed to hold constant across race, region, religion, and class. Most of them thought that anybody willing to work should be able to find a job that paid a living wage. They figured that people shouldn't have to file for bankruptcy because they got sick. They believed that every child should have a genuinely good education - that it shouldn't just be a bunch of talk - and that those same children should be able to go to college even if their parents weren't rich. They wanted to be safe, from criminals and from terrorists; they wanted clean air, clean water, and time with their kids. And when they got old, they wanted to be able to retire with some dignity and respect.

now these aren't unreasonable expectations - yet, somehow the richest nation in the world and the world's only superpower focuses on other priorities than keeping its citizens happy

why?

and if their government doesn't provide these things, why do they keep voting for them?

i don't have answers but questions like these make me continue to seek the answer and perhaps one day i'll understand politics and the true motivations of those in power - which undoubtedly involves having power and being able to influence the powerful - but until then, i'll just keep plugging away