Does this also apply to the close to one-half of Americans that wither pay nothing in federal income taxes or (even better) receive the earned income credit? The more the government places the tax burden on only the successful, the less we should be surprised when they decide they've had enough.
Let me say I am a strong fiscal conservative and strong defender of capitalism. American has always been a very good place for me to make a bundle of money in my lifetime.
However, I think what you say is a myth - propagated by someone who thinks they understand capitalism but have never experienced it first hand.
It is darn tough
not to pay taxes if you have a job... but it certainly doesn't surprise me to hear half the people do not pay taxes. I know what it takes not to pay income taxes in the US and you must be either only a child, or retired, or not working (like a housewife).
During my 40 years of working in the US, I never felt like taxes were so high that I should simply stop trying to make money. The human psyche doesn't work that way. I have lived through times when the top tax rate was 70%, and successful people were still trying to make more money. I believe the reason is simple... when you are making lots of money, you no longer work simply to make more money - you do it for the game, the competition, the pride of being rich that goes with it. The desire to climb the corporate ladder or be a more successful entrepreneur who makes a lot of money is very strong - not for the money, but for the pride in doing so. As Donald Trump said, "In business, money is only for keeping score".
Anybody who is making over $200,000 per year surely has everything he/she could possibly need to lead a comfortable life. When you start buying $100 bottles of wine, then you know money is no longer necessary for survival.
On the other hand, when you are making $40,000 per year (the median income of the US)... you must watch every penny. Maybe money is not necessary to put food in your children's mouth, but it does make the difference between driving an unreliable, old car and a car that is reliable.
The average person in the US is working for that successful man who is swimming in money. If it weren't for the people who are making lower than the 75th percentile wages, then the upper 25% would never be so successful. The worker bees make the queen bee rich!
The concept that higher taxes are a disincentive for successful people to make even more money is a myth. All successful people are driven to make more money regardless of the tax laws. Why? Because making big money is fun.