The U.S. middle class pay fairly low taxes but they also get a fairly low level of government services. The cradle to grave system in a country like Germany simply doesn't exist here.
It isn't really our total spending that's out of line, between local, state, and federal government expenditures are comparable, if on the low side, to Western Europe rather it's: 1) we spend wildly disproportionate portions of our budget and economy on the military and 2) we spend a lot more on health and education with less comprehensive coverage and without getting unequivocally better results where we do cover.
Finally, within the middle class, which can be a very broad term, there are big differences. Our tax codes are riddled with distortions designed to further this or that policy goal, as well as varying by geographical region because of our federal system. Two taxpayers with very similar total income and assets can end up paying very different amounts.
It isn't really our total spending that's out of line, between local, state, and federal government expenditures are comparable, if on the low side, to Western Europe rather it's: 1) we spend wildly disproportionate portions of our budget and economy on the military and 2) we spend a lot more on health and education with less comprehensive coverage and without getting unequivocally better results where we do cover.
Finally, within the middle class, which can be a very broad term, there are big differences. Our tax codes are riddled with distortions designed to further this or that policy goal, as well as varying by geographical region because of our federal system. Two taxpayers with very similar total income and assets can end up paying very different amounts.