Freethinking for Dummies

Redefining “Makers” and “Takers”

There has been much talk from the political right about makers and takers.  Let us take a closer look at these terms.

Here is how the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines these terms:

Makes: 

• to bring into being by forming, shaping, or altering material : fashion 
• to lay out and construct
• to put together from components
• to assemble to
• repare, fix

Maker: 

• one that makes

Takes:  

• to get into one’s hands or into one’s possession, power, or control
• to transfer into one’s own keeping
• to obtain or secure for use
• to obtain possession

Taker:  

• one who takes

American workers make things.  Lots of things.  

• physical things like cars, buildings, roads, clothes, etc.  
• productive, non-physical things like spreadsheets, reports, financial forecasts, sales, ideas, computer code and applications.
• intangible services, like customer service, technical support, mechanical repairs, maintenance of equipment, processes, and workflow.

As for the job creators:

• they take the fruit of the workers.
• profits from sale or use of the cars, buildings, roads, clothing, etc.
• profits that are maintained by the rest of the above mentioned services and productivity by American workers.

 

For the American worker, for their hard work, the work of their hands, brains, and ingenuity, they get:

• one to two weeks vacation a year (often after a year or more with the company)
• health insurance and a retirement package, if they are lucky enough to be working a full time schedule (many aren’t)
• five paid sick days a year, if they are lucky enough.  Many get none.
• unpaid maternity leave (which many can’t afford due to lose of income)
• twelve weeks of unpaid leave (which many can’t afford due to lose of income)
• a wage that they may or may not be able support themselves and a family on, if they are lucky (many must work two or more jobs to make ends meet)
• a safe working environment, assuming their employer is following the law (laws that were put in place because unions fought for them)

 

It is time to correctly define our political terms.  The real makers are the people who make everything that make profits for the real takers: the “job creators”.

The makers are the American workers.

The takers are the owners, CEOs, VPs, stock holders of the companies where the makers work.

It would seem, looking at things in this context that the takers take home much more of the fruits of the labor of the makers than the makers themselves could ever hope to.

We pride ourselves on being a nation that built its self up from nothing to the most powerful nation in the world.  But all of the real work; the hands that produced the materials; built the homes and great works of architecture; did the research that led to amazing technological advances; the men and women who fought and died in our wars, they made everything we see around us.

The American workers are, and always have been, the true makers, while the real takers have lived high on the hog of the fruits of their labors.

     

     

      

 

January 30, 2013 Posted by James Walker | Humanism, Social Justice | corporations, greed, labor, makers, poor, rich, social, social justice, takers | Leave a Comment