As a reminder, taxes on the upper echelons were much higher from Eisenhower until Reagan. For most of that time, the economy was really pretty good. The stock market (which used to not be used as the main measure of how the country was doing) grew just fine. In fact, much of the action-reaction we have in society can be traced back to the 1980s, which spawned this modern extremism.
Other items from this blog, which refer to outside economists' reports, are below: