In early 2012 the New York Times investigated a mysterious phenomenon. In U.S. states where citizens were clearly benefiting from government programs, voters supported Republican candidates who, for the most part, promised to reduce government spending. One might conclude that it was the wealthy residents of those states who were opposed to government spending, precisely because they didn’t want to support freeloaders. But in fact it was the very people whose lives were being improved by government spending who were voting to remove it.
