Americans pay almost four times as much as the citizens of other wealthy countries for things such as retirement security and health care on the private market – 10.6 percent of our economic output versus an average of just 2.7 percent among OECD member states.
Bill Moyers website has a great perspective on the whole state vs private industry, tax vs pay debate. It shows that Americans for the most part want what the government provides, well-maintained infrastructure, safe food and clean water, efficient firefighting and policing, Medicare and Social Security and virtually every other government-provided service you can name. Most Americans though think that a lower tax bill – especially for federal taxes — The article shows, with figures, that those low taxes actually work against the economic interests of most Americans.
That’s because we pay ridiculously high out-of-pocket costs for things that are provided by the public sector in other developed countries. The difference is quite dramatic.