Michael Hudson is interviewed on the Real News Network. He reviews the reasoning behind income tax policy in the 20th century, a good lesson in financial history. Interestingly, he says that data show tax cuts have been followed by slow growth in the US. He also says that "every recovery since World War II has taken place with a larger and larger proportion of debt to income."
Another interesting tidbit: the average holding period for a stock on the New York Stock Exchange has increased from 20 to 22 seconds in the past year. High frequency trading anyone?
Also see: Taxation history of the United States – Wikipedia