[analog31]

I've thought about this in the context of charities, since the US is a highly charitable country, with popular distrust of the government, yet is relatively impoverished compared to some other advanced countries. From the viewpoint of the beneficiaries of charity, who I presume are the poor, do they tend to be better off in countries where they are heavily supported by private charity, or in countries where taxes pay to support generous public institutions?

[s1artibartfast]

I think this is a faulty premise. The US is actually quite heavily taxed, at a level greater than most of the OECD and many European countries, Especially in nominal dollars collected, but also as a percent of GDP, or when adjusting for local costs (PPP).

In the US, when you add federal, state, and local revenue, about $8.3 trillion dollars are collected in taxes and fees. The GDP of the US is $20 trillion, so 40% of every dollar produced goes to the government.

This is about $25,000 of tax per person, or $32,000 if you only count adults.

My personal thought is that the main difference between the US and countries with generous public institutions is not the amount of tax revenue collected, but the percent of that revenue effectively spent on said institutions.