Out of curiosity, does anyone know what tax rates looked like in the 1800s? Zweig's 'The World of Yesterday' says it was in the single-digits in Vienna, but I'd like to have better numbers for more places.
I don't know, but it's worth pointing out that the US in 1890 was so different from the US of today as to make that an apples/oranges comparison. To draw some somewhat relevant comparisons: in the 1800s your children might very well be working in a mill to support the family, and there was no such thing as a weekend.