[mickt]

50% is as much or more than the percentage of tax that most Western Europeans pay and US government entities seem to provide less services compared to their European counterparts. Perhaps part of the reason is the huge portion of the Federal Budget that goes toward military spending?

[mpyne]

Military spending isn't exactly a large part of the GDP in America either. And much of that spending is to support international treaty obligations that go toward ensuring the security of Allies in west Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region, so perhaps your comparison of west European budget isn't entirely apples:apples here.