Sussexlad I think you are a bit harsh.
CAP413 is riddled with errors if you read it carefully, all be it continuity errors to which the average student will become confuesed with.
As for US R/T I dont think it is anymore lax than in the UK. When i came back from the states I was bricking it because everyone was saying "Oh the R/T inthe UK is so strict and fools won't be tollerated', I found this to be absolute shi**. I have heard worse R/T in the UK than I have in the states. As for not making a call to leave the frequency int he states, you are a very naughty boy because you should, unless you are on VFR/IFR flight following in which case the controller will dump you when they are ready.
As for airspace i think this is the biggest area for concern as the UK has more layers is more compact and has a million and one MATZ. But it is no sweat, just make sure you call them way in advanced and don't enter the airspace without permission, it is that simple. My perosnal opinion is people look at airspace on the map and say "bugger i will have to go around that" not true. If you dont want to mess about getting permission you could always take the option to go under the airspace or over it (if the options exist). So alot of the CTA's and TMA's are not an issue.
As far as costs go as I mention there are some schools in the states that soak all the ancillary costs except flights to and from the states, so if you choose right you erradicate that issue.
As for legal rights and poor treatment, it is pretty much the same in the US as in the UK. if you are going to get screwed you are going to get screwed. At least in the US there is not the stiff upper lip with regards to GA as there is in the UK.
I have flown with lots of UK and US trained pilots and tend to find the US trained pilots to be a bit more relaxed and less worried about busting airspace and more able to fly more than 10 miles without having to refer to a map every 20 seconds.
Alot of this US UK arrgument is scare mongering in both directions.