America's giant welfare state

WE AMERICANS pride ourselves on not having a "welfare state". We're not like Europeans. We're more individualistic and self-reliant, and although we may have a "social safety net" to protect people against unpredictable personal and societal tragedies, we explicitly repudiate a comprehensive welfare state as inherently un-American.

Dream on.

Call it a massive case of national self-deception. Indeed, judged by how much countries devote of their national income to social spending, we have the world's second-largest welfare state - just behind France.