Out of touch with the US, maybe. Here, I can be sick for 6 consecutive weeks and still get my full salary (and 70%-90% of my full salary for up to like a year)

Out of touch with the US, maybe. Here, I can be sick for 6 consecutive weeks and still get my full salary (and 70%-90% of my full salary for up to like a year). I get money from the state when I'm unemployed (as long as I'm actively trying to find new employment). And if I have kids, I get additional money from the state (couple hundred euro per month per kid). We simply don't have any need for things like Food Stamps here... So yeah, sorry if I'm "out of touch" with the backwater ways of the US of A ;-)