> In the early years of the US, between 80 and 90 percent of federal revenue came from tariffs...
To be fair, the Federal Budget back then was 2%-ish of GDP. And their political consensus gave the Federal Gov't very few things that it had the power to tax.
Govt spending as a share of GDP is probably a good measure of how involved the government is in the economy. There are arguments that too much government involvement leads to stagnation, which considering many of the economies the US regularly out-grows have higher share of govt spending as a % of GDP has some merit. Its an interesting economic question what level that would be which changes depending on how you approach the problem.
To be fair, the Federal Budget back then was 2%-ish of GDP. And their political consensus gave the Federal Gov't very few things that it had the power to tax.