Makers and Takers

Who are the Makers and who are the Takers?

According to my friends on the Right, the Makers are the patriotic class of the mythical entrepreneurs that grant the unwashed gainful employment as a favor to this nation.  These Makers contribute to the greater good by giving work to others, and they set a powerful example for self-reliance by making as much profit as they possibly can at the expense of the workers.  If you work hard for a Maker, maybe someday, you could be one of them, a self-made Maker.  This is some sort of Maker’s tough love.  

According to my friends on the Right, the Takers are best represented by the 47% made famous in Mitt Romney’s secretly recorded talk to a group of Makers.  You may remember this video as detailing the message that Romney initially embraced, then disavowed, then embraced again after the election.  The Takers make nothing.  The Takers are killing the Makers, he explained.  That giant sucking sound you hear are the Takers doing what they do best – sucking the will to produce from the Makers.  

According to my friends on the Right, It’s not easy being a Maker.

After careful consideration, I am starting to wonder if the Makers might actually be the Takers in sheep’s clothing.

According to me, not enough attention is being paid to the idea that, considered another way, the Makers are the Takers.  The Makers are taking from taxpayers.  The Makers have taken from Taker pension funds.  The Makers take the Taker's livelihood when they allow unsafe working conditions in exchange for greater profitability.  That giant sucking sound you hear are the Makers doing what they do best – sucking the will to produce from the Takers. 

To even make this point, I am now libeled a class warfare warrior, out to discredit Makers and by extension, freedom.  But aren’t those discrediting the Takers also class warfare warriors?  

Thankfully, we have a new Senator from Massachusetts who is questioning the right wing preconceptions of the Makers and Takers.  She is asking questions that I would hope the Tea Party would cheer with the same passion as those East Coast liberal elites who financed her campaign.

Who is the Maker and who is the Taker?

Thanks to Rick Manfredi for the head's up on this clip

I don’t know what kind of Senator she’ll be, but I appreciate the questions.

This is the kind of message that the Tea Party should embrace.  This is the story of the Little Guy getting crushed by the Big Guy.  Unfortunately, some Rich Big Guys convinced the Tea Party Patriots that it was Other Little Guys taking their stuff, not the Makers.  The Little Guys are easy to pick out, too.  They are mostly brown, or young, or talk with foreign accents.  

The ranks of the 47% grew larger after the Bush recession wiped out 40% of the wealth of the middle class.  The banks and the bank heads were then rewarded with taxpayer dollars.  Remind me again – who are the Takers?

Could be the ones covered in the cookie crumbs.

A great song from a great band that wears its politics on its sleeve.