The 1950s Economic Golden Age Is a Myth

I periodically get hit with the argument that high tax rates don’t matter since America enjoyed a golden period of prosperity in the 1950s and early 1960s when the top tax rate was more than 90 percent. But the US experienced four recessions during the 1950s which were really a period of tepid growth. High tax rates are generally symbolic – at least from a revenue-raising perspective – since taxpayers arrange their financial affairs to avoid the tax.