Comment of the Day: Maynard Handley: Where Does the Use of "Takers" as in "Makers and Takers" and "A Nation of Takers" Come From?: "I really think more importance should be placed on the 'makers' part of the phrase...
...in particular the delusions of the rich:
It is we who plowed the prairies; built the cities where they trade;
Dug the mines and built the workshops, endless miles of railroad laid;
Now we stand outcast and starving midst the wonders we have made;
But the union makes us strong.They have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn,
But without our brain and muscle not a single wheel can turn.
We can break their haughty power, gain our freedom when we learn
That the union makes us strong.I've noticed that the managerial class speak in a very particular way where they say things like "I've solved that problem", by which they mean that they have dispatched an engineer (or lawyer or janitor) to ACTUALLY solve the problem.
This seems like a classic case where the language you use controls your brain so extensively that you literally can no longer think straight. Say enough times that YOU have "solved" problems, and pretty soon you're the guy who has done it all, single-handed.