I don't know about US social services spending compared to the rest of the world, but I keep hearing/seeing figures like: The US spends 50% of the entire global military budget; the US spends as much on its military as the next 40 nations combined...blah de blah. Basically, the US outspends the rest of the world military wise so much it is insane.
While there are historical reasons for this, after the fall of the Soviet empire and the end of the Cold War, the US really has been missing an opportunity to wind back on military spending. I think if the US was spending only 30% of the global military budget it would still have a global hegemony, whilst being in a much better fiscal circumstance.
After all, the US doesn't like to go to war without allies, as this looks morally better. So the US shouldn't have to rely solely on its own military budget for its own military interests. Secondly, if the US would just let some more nations run themselves internally how they want to, the US would be making far less ill-will for itself in the world.
Also, how US Healthcare got into it's present state is a puzzlement to foreigners. How the US manages to spend twice the GDP on Healthcare as other first world nations, with only the same or worse healthcare outcomes seems a frustrating, terrible, pressing question. AND you manage to bankrupt many people when they get sick. It's a sick joke to an outsider, who doesn't get why you have all put up with these outcomes for so long. If you just imported the British, Canadian, Australian, or any European health system you'd be the same or better off, and suddenly have 7% more money as a nation.