The government (at least in Sweden) already imposes really high taxes. And people here are still generally wealthy as fuck (relative to most of the world) and able to use a large chunk of their income for beer, trendy clothes, smartphones, restaurants, travel, etc (ie nice-to-have luxury goods).
It's all a matter of perspective IMHO.
Of course, I'm generally leary of "solutions" that come out of the gov't but that's another story...
Sweden's wealth is made possible by the relative abundance of natural resources for its size and population: it's population (~9 million) is just a bit larger than that of the San Francisco Bay Area, but it has a GDP of $443.718 billion (i.e., higher per capita than most American states, including California).
It's all a matter of perspective IMHO.
Of course, I'm generally leary of "solutions" that come out of the gov't but that's another story...