It always amuses me to see protesters who want more free stuff, especially as they talk on their iPhone while carrying their professionally made protest signs.
Social welfare can be defined as providing health care, education, cash retirement benefits, unemployment insurance, earned income tax credit, food stamps and public housing, oh, and free iPhones.
The U.S. ranks third on per-capita government social welfare spending when compared to European nations. While you can argue that in Europe “government” provides more free stuff, and our middle class relies more on its own resources, you are correct. Our government welfare system puts an emphasis on the poor and elderly rather than the middle class.
If you, however, consider private-sector contributions to retirement, health care and education, the social welfare spending in the U.S. dwarfs that of other nations. In fact, social welfare spending per capita in the U.S. rises to nearly twice the European average, and the middle class receives most of these added benefits.