Housing is a choice, in both the USA and the EU. You can live in a mobile home, under a bridge, or in a million dollar mansion, it is entirely up to the individual. I would agree that there is an illusion regarding what you actually get from the government. It is a common belief that EU countries have "free" healthcare and the US does not. Nominally, it looks like that. However, in the EU, even if you have money, you can end up dying in a queue for a "free" procedure, whereas in the US you can buy it immediately if you have the funds. I don't fully endorse either system. I agree that US healthcare costs is high, but we shall ask is why it is so expensive. My suspicion points to overly complicated regulations, which drag expensive lawyers and compliance costs into the equation, as well as the US bearing the high burden of pharmaceutical development that the EU then consumes as a free rider.