Compared to today ? First of all , there were many tax loopholes that people used to avoid those high rates . Second of all , there are many reasons some measurable , some not why I don ' t believe this to be true . A big one is the amount of work time it takes to purchase average household goods food , electronics , household items etc things that really make us prosperous . The cost of items in work time average wages per hournominal prices has gone WAY down since the 60 ' s . <| sep |> However , as we all know , the bullies do NOT possess the Nightmares . Heh , aimed at me , Doowop ? XD <| sep |> I touched on 1 and 3 in your second link with my last sentence above . The perception of being caught is the deterrent . Although the last one about the death penalty is odd . I never figured the death penalty as a deterring form of punishment . I just figured it was the collective saying You individually no longer have a right to life as per breaking one of our rules . The death penalty is the ultimate form of punishment that you receive for committing a heinous act . It ' s not there to ward off people from committing a heinous act . Like Anders Brevik . He should ' ve been hanged or shot the moment they had him in custody . Mass murdering people should not be a justifiable offense ever .