Myth of the American Over-spending

I enjoy seeing a statistic that changes my preconceptions about an issue. Over this decade I've read many articles about the excess spending by American consumers and how people were buying cars, flat-screen TVs, etc...

This article by Doug Henwood shows the share of consumption relative to GDP with and without medical expenses. I guess the UK picture would look completely different given the impact of NHS.

I guess this yet another good reason to improve the health-care system in the US.