Reasons for Economic Problems of the Gilded Age • Rapid growth of trusts and monopolies • Ruthless business tactics of robber barons • Use of unfair practices by the railroads such as rebates, pools, and differential rates One way the U. S. government responded to the problems caused by the conditions in this list was by - passing the Interstate Commerce Act Omplementing the silver standard for currency creating a federal jobs program for the unemployed establishing a new tax on capital gains