Let me clarify my stance. I am perfectly fine and satisfied with current Government system's in my home country (Canada), as they work fairly well (nowhere near perfectly, but since no-one is there, that's kind of irrelevant). However, if I could, I would probably prefer Canada move to the left further.
I in no way believe in a one size fits all solution, or complete redistribution of wealth. I do believe in instituting at the very least, certain, more focused socialist influenced programs. For example, one of the biggest problems in the area near where I live is homelessness. This homelessness has a very direct and traceable cause, the closing of several mental health hospitals. If the government we have in the area (which spends a lot of money, just in some rather unclever places) invested money into actually helping these people by re-opening the hospitals, we would probably be able to solve most of our homelessness problems.
Again, I'm in no way recommending a complete change to complete socialization of all industry. I simply believe that the government exists to serve the people. For me, this means helping people as much as possible without infringing upon their freedom too heavily (obviously you cannot have the freedom to murder people in a working society).
As for my belief that socialism (or certain socialist style policies) would create a greater quality of life for people, that is due to several factors. One is that, in certain situations, it can very easily do that, as you pointed out. I also think it is just very difficult for some things to work well for every person when privatized, at least after a while. Canada spends less of its GDP on healthcare than the USA, and every single Canadian has coverage that they are never denied, as opposed to the millions of uninsured Americans, or those whose coverage is denied. A lot of people talk about waiting times in Canadian hospitals, but the truth is that you will only ever experience those with non-emergency problems. That is, you will not die or become permanently crippled due to having to wait to get in a hospital in Canada. In addition, many markets in countries that do not have government run organizations or very strict regulations tend to stagnate. There are a huge number of companies that instead of competing, essentially co-operate, and enjoy huge profit margins. Of course, this isn't really so bad, since the average person can afford this, and larger profits should lead to larger wages, but there are times when this infringes too much on the common man. I also believe in directed approaches for social programs, like the example you gave of job training as opposed to handouts. To me, it is very important that steps such as this are followed.
I think, from reading your post, the big difference between us really comes down to subjectivity. What I think is a reasonable extension of government you probably think is unreasonable, what I feel is far too much market stagnation you probably see as completely reasonable. Hell, what I think is better quality of living, you may completely disagree with. I can't really say that you're wrong, because you're not.
As for social rights, as far as I can tell, I completely agree with you. For me, social rights are far more important than fiscal policy and its derivatives, simply because I am satisfied with the current system, and most close systems.
I think I worded some of that poorly, so definitely ask if you think I said something retarded or just need clarification.