I kinda have a feeling of an idea of what he means, I just don't know if it's right, and if it is, how it applies to the US way of life. For some odd reason, 'property taxes' keeps popping in my head, but I don't think that's what he means by it. I know he's been here, so he must have some sort of first-hand observations that led him to this idea.
And it's just such an odd phrase...