It'll be interesting to see what conclusions you eventually arrive at.
The premise in the e-mail is oversimplistic--life was more free 100 years ago, but it was rough on a lot of people, too.
An article on the history of taxation in this country.
One wonders how the Depression might have gone if the idiots hadn't dropped two tax increases in the middle of it.
The lesson is that government will absorb every damn penny it takes in and always ask for more. Look at California.