Totil, my Icelandic friend,

You are way too gracious in descibing my views as clearly stated. And you are far too accurate in describing my opinions of Iceland as ignorant.
I was living in the U.S. in 1999, and despite of having a morally destitute leader at the time, our country was really doing just fine then. I am interested in what you saw that would make you think differently? There are poor people in the U.S., and homeless people. Our government through the welfare system offers them some alleviation of their misery, but more importantly, our society offers them opportunity.
There is another quaint saying here in the U.S. "The best social program that ever existed is a job." The issuance of government handouts don't restore dignity. It is only by encouraging people to "eat dirt" to improve their lives that our society can restore to them their dignity.