Here is the top marginal tax rate in America compared to other major economies. For a period in the 60s America had a higher tax rate than the UK, France, and Germany until Kennedy dropped it from 90% to 70%. It wasn't until Reagan when the top tax rate dropped all the way down to 28%. The idea that anyone would have to pay 70% or 90% in taxes makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little.

Even though the top marginal rate was 90% in the 50s and 70% in the 60s, the economy was still expanding at a high rate, with only a couple of minor setbacks. Nobody actually pays the top marginal rate, anyway, given the proliferation of tax attorneys and certified public accountants. These fields wouldn't exist unless people with money didn't feel the need to find every tax loophole they can.
Besides, with these tax rates, the federal government actually had the wherewithal to fund and build Big Things--you know, things like the space program and the Interstate Highway System. IMHO, the reason why we now have crumbling infrastructure, why we are falling behind in education, and why we haven't taken the necessary steps in new technologies (including green energy) is attributable to the squeezing of government revenue.
Our government (starting with the Reagan Administration) has made the conscious choice to stop doing things well. One of the few things that the US can still do well is kill people--that and make it easy for the non-rich to be fleeced and stigmatized by the rich.
Of course, that's a feature and not a bug. It's essentially the Kochs, Adelsons, and Waltons of the world saying, "We've got ours, screw you!" But that can only work for so long before the economy tanks due to the lack of consumer purchasing power (you can only borrow for so long) and/or the people get completely fed up and demand change.
Call me a cynic, but I'm guessing the former happens before the latter.