I think you are also being a bit misleading, you do mention how much richer people are today but this really can't be overstated. In 1861, only 3% of the popula

I think you are also being a bit misleading, you do mention how much richer people are today but this really can't be overstated. In 1861, only 3% of the population earned more than $800 per year. So the original income tax only applied to the very rich.