Another thing that has been stewing in my mind is this Sociological theory of Relative Deprivation. This could explain why so many rural poors are Republican and so many Upper-Middle and Middle-Class urbanites are democrats.
You see, in rural areas, where taxes, wages, land values- and above all- economic competiton are low, it is relatively easy to get a nice apartment on the main drag or a nice colonial a mile or two down the main drag, without much more than a High School education. Making just 35,000 a year as a carpenter, plumber or mechanic, you will be able to get a 3 bedroom home, a used truck and maybe a nice TV, health insurance and a savings account going. If not, your wife, who probably is just a High School graduate, will probably work part time as a receptionist for someone and bring in perhaps another 15,000 a year. In this situation, you have no need for government support, because you don't have to fight for work and everything is cheap. Even if you are poor, if the market ain't broke, don't fix it....and life is good and no one else is flaunting their stuff. You can be a happy yeoman.
On the other hand, if you are a doctor, lawyer or executive making 120,000 in a big city, you probably have massive competition. Your 2500 you can afford a rent only gets you a two bedroom loft, if you are very lucky. You will probably need to get married to someone at least of your station just to afford the 4000 a month you probably need to get a family-size apartment in the middle of town. On top of that, the competition for food and utilities is tense and though you have a new Large Benz in your parking space, you probably have trouble saving money or having health insurance (though your insurance is probably covered by your "lucrative" position). On top of that, you probably have at least 50000 in loans to just have been trained. You feel that you can never get ahead because your supervisor or competitor and his wife makes twice as much as you and your wife do and can afford to have a full-sized, 4-bedroom penthouse on the 8000 (a 2 or 3 million dollar house) they have available for rent and can afford to go out to eat every night and always go to the South Seas or Europe for vacation every other weekend. You are a very succesful man, but you are still struggling to get by and you are constantly reminded how long of a ways you have to go. At this point, you probably believe that you should get help in affording basic neccesities, even if it means that the tax burden will go on you- you need to get your daughter chemo, not a new pair of $500 jogging shoes.
In a nutshell- a working class lifestyle in the country is less difficult than an upper-middle class lifestyle in "town". People could just say that you should move, but then you would lose all of the services you get as well as all the business you produce. It's nuts. I mean, everyone wants freedom and I don't think that people are actively debating whether or not they want a market economy. OTOH, they do debate whether or not the market, as liberal/free as it is, actually causes them to be happy.
I've stewed with something like this as well. Not to bring local politics into this and I'll try to be as general as possible. I've noticed a trend, primarily in the NYC and Philly areas where people in occupations such as police, fire, trades, etc. are becoming more Republican due to racial issues, the Catholic church/social views, etc. and have more secure jobs. While everyone on here knows Obama did incredible in the Philly suburbs, African American neighborhoods, and downtown, the Democratic leadership pre-economic collapse was hyperventilating over converting Hillary Clinton supporters in white blue collar neighborhoods and early poll numbers were looking Reagan-esque for McCain. Yet in our suburbs, the Democrats have been doing massively better over the past 20 years. I think some people in white collar jobs are less secure then they ever were, more indebted hence becoming more Democratic not to mention even the social views. All Republicans had to do in the suburbs was say "taxes" and they'd be fine. Since the early 1990s, they've lost ground not only on social issues, but me thinks suburban voters have moderated, or even become left-of-center on economic issues as well.
