Good question…

…from Michael Hiltzik in the LA Times...

Isn't it curious that the same people who insist that America is the greatest, richest country in the world, ever, are those who insist that there's no way we can afford to provide for our elderly, our disabled and the survivors of our deceased workers to the same degree as the rest of the industrialized world?

Yes, it is.  All the more so when you bear in mnd that... 

Federal taxes — personal, corporate and excise combined — amounted to about 15.4% of our gross national product last year, according to the Office of Management and Budget. That's lower than the level of every other industrialized country, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 

We should be talking about what America can do, and what Americans can have, instead of what we can't do or must do without.  Hiltzik's piece is a good example.

Hat tip to Robert.