> how have we always just accepted the lack of personal privacy when it comes to finance?
It was very easy. The American public was hoodwinked into accepting the 16th Amendment (levying an income tax) as a tax the rich scheme. And like all tax the rich schemes it was a cover to tax everyone, especially the middle class. You can't have an income tax without the government prying into everyone's finances.
No, they said the tax on capital gains was unconstitutional. An income tax itself was allowed, they only tossed out the whole law because it was obvious that the tax code they ruled unconstitutional wouldn't make sense without the capital gains tax parts.
It was very easy. The American public was hoodwinked into accepting the 16th Amendment (levying an income tax) as a tax the rich scheme. And like all tax the rich schemes it was a cover to tax everyone, especially the middle class. You can't have an income tax without the government prying into everyone's finances.
Before this financial privacy was the norm.