I don't think capitalism's to blame, since western Europe is just as capitalist as the USA.
That's highly debatable. Joe Stiglitz and Michael Hudson would disagree for starters. Capitalism has lost a lot of its meaning since 1929. And I think every experiment since 1929, experiments that shift economies back to the laissez-faire capitalist model, will always end in disaster. It seems the faster they implement the neoliberalism the faster the economy goes down the pike.