Re: dropped off a cliff since the Reagan era
Reagan is the one who started slashing tax rates at the top end, and every Republican POTUS since then has spent like a drunken sailor on shore leave while simultaneously hobbling the country's ability to bring in tax revenue to pay for it. Before Reagan came along, the top tax rate for individuals in the US was around 68%. I think it was pretty similar for corporations. All the infrastructure and public works that have made American businesses able to... you know... do business, were built using tax money. All the roads, the power grids, water and sewage, the Internet... all those little things that would make it impossible to move goods around or provide services, without. There's also things like social security and medicare, which were created with the assumption of a top tax rate of around 70%, not the like 30-something it is now, and of course most of the wealthiest individuals get most of their income from capitol gains which are taxed at like 17%. As Warren Buffet once pointed out, his effective tax rate is lower than his secretary's.
* GHWB had his famous "no new taxes" pledge and then also got us into the first Gulf War and imposing that no fly zone over Iraq.
* GWB got us into the wars in Afghanistan and then the second Gulf War, neither of which were paid for during his time in office, and he passed a couple major tax cuts at the same time.
* Trump you already covered, not to mention the general chaos of that administration roiled markets.
Honorable mention goes to Newt Gingrich, who is probably the single most responsible party for the gridlock you see in Congress today. And of course one can't forget about how Republicans have zero problem passing tax cuts and passing massive new spending bills when they are in charge, but the moment they are in the minority suddenly they rediscover "fiscal responsibility." Like an alcoholic who runs out of money and is forced to sober up for a while. As the old saying goes: Democrats tax and spend, Republicans just spend.
You go to Europe... sure, you might pay 60% of your income in various taxes, but you have well maintained public works, you have socialized health care so you don't go bankrupt if you get into a freak car accident... you can have public pension programs where people can actually retire, unlike the US where people are being forced to work basically until they drop. The value for your money ratio is pretty high.