As an outsider your opinion does seem to be the case, but I've heard stories of people taking it quite a bit further (eg claiming dependants that in no way meet

As an outsider your opinion does seem to be the case, but I've heard stories of people taking it quite a bit further (eg claiming dependants that in no way meet the criteria). It is probably easier to rationalise incremental steps away from what should be done over time as you get away with each previous one. What originally perplexed me originally would be seeing signs like "do not walk on the grass" and in some places it seemed completely ignored, and others obeyed. Same with speed limits (one time I was the slowest driver on the New Jersey turnpike because the signs said go 45 due to roadwork, so I did). I think it is the chances of getting caught that define people's behaviour, not any reasons for the rules in the first place, and this seemed to be a very big American trait. BTW Dunbar's number is also related to the fairness thing IMHO.