President George W. McKinley? Bush waxes nostalgic for robber baron-era tax policies. (The Taxonomist).(George W. Bush)

IS GEORGE W. BUSH HOPING TO TAKE US BACK TO THE 19th century on tax policy?

Prior to the 20th century, except under Abraham Lincoln, the federal government relied almost entirely on regressive consumption taxes to pay its bills. This system of high taxes on the poor and middle class and hardly any tax burden on the rich and powerful reached its apotheosis under Republican President William McKinley, who worked with GOP political boss (and Karl Rove hero) Mark Hanna to raise consumption taxes to almost 50 percent on many ordinary commodities in the 1897 tariff bill.

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