六十年代和七十年代迅速发展起来的美国福利国家目前遇到了极大的困境。美国的社会计划和关于福利国家的概念都陷入了困难,甚至连那些支持实现福利国家的目标的人也感到需要加以改革,而那些持严厉态度的人则提出应该取消或大幅度削减福利开支。1977年美国公共社会支出在国民生产总值中占的百分比从1976年的20.4%降到19.7%,这是十多年来的第一次。美国福利国家从1950年到1977年有了很大发展。1950年,各级政府的公共社会福利支出只有 U.S. welfare states, which developed rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s, now have a great deal of difficulty. The social programs in the United States and the notion of welfare states have all been caught up in difficulties, and even those who support the goal of a welfare state feel the need to reform, while those who hold a serious stance suggest that the benefits should be canceled or drastically reduced. For the first time in more than a decade, public spending on public goods in the United States fell to 19.7% of GDP in 1976 from 20.4% in 1976. U.S. welfare states have greatly developed from 1950 to 1977. In 1950, the public social welfare expenditures of all levels of government were only