Here are examples where Americans are paying more than we realize, yet not getting our money's worth:

Health care. Compare what Americans pay on health care to what they pay in Japan - about twice as much money, whether measured per capita or as a percent of gross domestic product. For those Americans that have health care coverage (about 45 million of us still don't), we continue to pay escalating premiums and deductibles. Many Americans are choosing to pay ridiculously high deductibles in order to reduce their premiums; I have a friend who bought a health care policy for his family of three children with a $10,000 a year deductible in order to keep his premiums affordable. But the Japanese receive health care in return for a modest amount deducted from their paychecks. And the various metrics show that they have better health, and their coverage is universal - everyone in Japan has health care, even as they pay less money to provide it.

College education. Many Americans are frantically stuffing tens of thousands of dollars into various private savings vehicles for their children's college education. Yet most German or Austrian students pay little in the way of tuition. Which means they don't graduate from college with a huge debt burden of tens of thousands of dollars, like many U.S. students do.

Child care. Child care in the United States costs more than $12,000 annually for a family with two children. In some countries in Europe, child care is free. In others, they pay $1000-$2000 per year, depending on their income. So they are paying at most only one-sixth of what Americans are paying -- and the quality is far superior.

Retirement. Millions of Americans are stuffing as much as possible into their IRAs and 401(k)s (which lost 40% of their value during the economic collapse in 2008) because Social Security provides a measly amount towards retirement -- only about 33-40 percent of one's final salary, which is not enough income for a comfortable retirement. It's also quite a bit stingier than most other developed countries, with the average retirement replacement wage for member countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) being 57%, and in the European Union 62%. Naturally a higher replacement wage better ensures that seniors don't suffer a severe drop in their living standards, and for Americans to match that we have to save a lot more out of our own pockets.

Senior care. According to the OECD, Americans' private spending on old-age care is nearly three times higher per capita than in Europe because Americans must self-finance a significant share of their own senior care by paying out-of-pocket. Whether it's through taxes or out-of-pocket, either way, you pay.

Paid sick leave, paid parental leave. Without mandatory paid sick leave or parental leave (after the birth of a child), most Americans must self-finance their own time off. That's money lost, out-of-pocket. But Canadians, Australians, Japanese and Europeans receive all of these and more -- in return for their taxes.