A well-worn political cliche has it that people vote their pocketbooks.

How long that saying or belief has been around may be indicated by the fact that "pocketbook" is a word that is no longer in general useage. Women carry handbags and, perhaps with a wallet inside, and men carry wallets. But the phrase conveys meaning anyway, and often it is correct.

James McGill Buchanan, just awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in economics, has made a career out of examining the relationship between individual pocketbooks, politicians, and government policies.

Any and all may be analyzed and predicted, ...

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