Who votes Pub, who Democrat and who for public spending? Here's a

Here's a great NY Times article "Even Critics of Public Safety Net Increasingly Dependent on It." It has a lot of information about what's been happening to incomes (dropping), expenses, and population and an interactive map of US public spending.  Note, there's lots of information to support different viewpoints here.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/us/even-critics-of-safety-net-increasingly-depend-on-it.html

"One of  the oldest criticisms of democracy is that the people will inevitably drain the treasury by demanding more spending than taxes. The theory is that citizens who get more than they pay for will vote for politicians who promise to increase spending.

But Dean P. Lacy, a professor of political science at Dartmouth College, has identified a twist on that theme in American politics over the last generation. Support for Republican candidates, who generally promise to cut government spending, has increased since 1980 in states where the federal government spends more than it collects. The greater the dependence, the greater the support for Republican candidates.

Conversely, states that pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits tend to support Democratic candidates. And Professor Lacy found that the pattern could not be explained by demographics or social issues."