The underlying assumption made in all of these "U.S. doesn't give as much" tirades is, of course, that the moral fiber of a nation depends on how much taxpayer money it spreads overseas. Not a given, but we'll let that go for now.

Second, there seems to be an assumption that the foreign aid given out by other nations does not have at least as many strings and quid pro quos attached as ours does. Not a given, either, but I've got no facts to back it up solidly.

Third--and here I've got some numbers--if you really want a gauge of a nation's generosity, maybe we need to factor in non-governmental aid as well, i.e. aid that hasn't been pried from taxpayers at gunpoint. The table on page 3 of the link is useful: it shows private developmental assistance from the U.S. in the year 2000 to be 33.6 billion, or over three times the official government development assistance amount.

Of course, to the socialists of Europe, private charity probably doesn't count.

Fourth, we could factor in the fact that pretty much anything useful technologically over the past century that has improved the lives of people across the planet was probably developed in the United States. Maybe that needs to be tallied in too, but numbers would be hard to calculate.

Fifth: Yes, despite what you say, the amounts we have spent in money and lives to keep people in Europe and elsewhere from being devoured by totalitarian monsters ought to count for something.