Our economy runs in cycles, taxes are only a single contributing factor.
The current economical mess we see ourselves in, was primarily caused by the housing bubble. Millions of Americans simply spent money they didn't have, many were driven by their own greed, some were swindled by predatory lenders coupled by greed. Consumer confidence is another factor, investments slow down when the return is questioned. Regulations are another factor that dictates investment and growth, as much as you will probably deny this fact, I see it every day and it's killing businesses across the country. There's nothing wrong with common sense regulation, but there are thousands of idiotic regulations that kill jobs and progress.
No matter how good the economy gets, there are going to be classes, we'll always have the rich, the poor and the in between, just like we have the lazy, the motivated and those in the middle. But almost everyone of us have the opportunity to be anything we want in this country.