I'm sorry if I offended you in some way. "Welfare state" is a widely accepted academic term, and I was using it in that context. I could just as easily have said "states with very progressive tax systems that offer substantial benefits to all citizens, rather than only those who pay." It would have gone over better with those of us who feel strongly about a US transfer payment system ("welfare"), but it didn't really roll off the tongue.
I wasn't offended, I was merely pointing out that saying you don't think of it that way isn't really what matters in these matters; what others think is.
But sure, talk about the policy, though I didn't disagree with anything you said policy related.
But since many others do, then it is. It is not the speaker which decides whether insult was intended, but the listener.