Written by Kenneth Rapoza   

Two years ago, the majority of American voters chose Barack Obama as the president because they believed he was going to change things. A few weeks ago, voters chose Tea Party Republican candidates because they believed their guys are going to change things, too. But what happens when voting doesn't improve a thing for the vast majority of voters?

Most Americans live in the middle class. Here in the rich northeast, that means a median income of around $53,000, according to the 2009 Census. On Dec. 1, the president's Deficit Commission voted to extend tax cuts on the rich -- or those earning at least five times median income -- and lower those tax rates from 35% to as low as 23%. Corporate taxes are proposed to be cut as low as 26%. This means less tax revenue for a government in deficit, but that is besides the point. Wealthy people love this proposal because it means a few hundred grand in their pockets, if not millions. The market loves this because wealthy investors will have extra cash to invest. What about the majority of us?

The majority of us have something new to possibly look forward to: an increase in the gasoline tax and an increase of the retirement age to 69 from 64. That means if you don't have sufficient investments to live on, you cannot collect social security until 69 years old. Most Americans at that age earning median income have around $97,000 in a 401k, according to estimates by US News & World Reports.

On Wednesday, congress decided to let the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program -- which extends unemployment benefits to millions nationwide -- expire without reauthorizing it. Because there is no unemployment lobby or media outlet skewering politicians for destroying capitalism if they voted otherwise, extending benefits to unemployed Americans in the worst economy since the Depression is not a priority.

Not getting what you want from politicans extends beyond economics. Not too long ago, President Bush had a majority Republican Senate and House of Representatives. He appointed new conservative judges. But his base of Christian values voters didn't get abortion outlawed. American culture didn't suddenly improve for the better. There is no true way to measure how spending trillions on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has made us safer. We haven't captured Osama bin Laden. Judging by arrests and recently banned flights, the FBI and the Scotland Yard have done a better job stopping terrorists than the military and Christian defense contractors like XE (formerly known as Blackwater).

There's been hundreds of books published on why average American voters are disillusioned with Washington, yet somehow keep voting. What drives us to the polls when we get little, if anything, in return? We hope that our better selves will emerge in our chosen candidates and that those in power, and we all know who they are and what industries they work for, will somehow, by the Grace of God or humility, think first of the common good instead of themselves. We vote for that reason, despite a track record that should show Republican and Democratic voters otherwise.

-- by Kenneth Rapoza