 In the 1800s, there was less than 1% income tax. The government wasn't out to exploit you. There was a time when there were men like Abraham Lincoln, who was no saint, but he wasn't there trying to get rich. He wasn't gonna retire from the presidency and make a million dollars with a Netflix thing or a book special. I forgot, one of the recent presidents made a hundred. Obama has a hundred million dollar book deal after it. There was no opportunity.