Short answer.The spending priorities are different. We get a much smaller military for example. Long answer (includes speculation). One primary function of the

Short answer.The spending priorities are different. We get a much smaller military for example. Long answer (includes speculation). One primary function of the nation state is to provide its people security. I think most European societies include healthcare and unemployment in their concept of security. This means that spending on these things is seen (by a majority) as a primary function of the state in European cultures. Whereas in US culture these things are seen by a majority as outside the primary scope of the nation state's role in providing security to its population. (NB the UK falls somewhere in between and these things are in flux all the time.)