The US has the world's largest entitlement and social welfare programs, including its vast Social Security program (which is not actually paid for in full by it

The US has the world's largest entitlement and social welfare programs, including its vast Social Security program (which is not actually paid for in full by its recipients, it's heavily subsidized, ie a welfare transfer) or eg its $120 billion EBT food program. And that's just at the federal level, the US has another gigantic government complex at the state level. Most US government spending, $10 trillion (federal + state + local), goes to social welfare programs and entitlements. That $10 trillion is larger than the entire economies of Japan + Germany combined. The US spends more on healthcare than any other nation, by far. It hasn't given up anything. The poorest 1/4 of the US population gets entirely free healthcare, and it's the most expensive free healthcare that you'll find anywhere on the planet. Another quarter of the US population receives directly subsidized healthcare. Over-spending on the US military is a $200-$250 billion problem. The US spends $4+ trillion on healthcare every year. Practically every full-time employee (32 hours or more per week) in the US gets paid time off. Your average retail store employee - working at CVS, Walgreens, Amazon, Walmart, Target, etc - earning ~$13-$17 / hour typically accrues 10-14 days of PTO per year (one can certainly argue it should be more; pretending it doesn't exist, or using "by law" to devalue its existence, is absurd).