In his second inaugural speech, President Obama said:<\/p>\n
“The commitments we make to each other through Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security, these things do not sap our initiative. They strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers.<\/b><\/em> They free us to take the risks that make this country great.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
When campaigning in New Hampshire on September 18, 2012, Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Paul Ryan said<\/a>:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe risk hitting a tipping point in our society where we have more takers than makers in society, where we will have turned our safety net into a hammock that lulls able bodied people into lives of dependency and complacency.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Obama\u2019s policies are feverishly putting more people into the column of being takers than makers, of being more dependent,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There is an element of merit to what Congressman Ryan says.\u00a0 Any society, any organization, needs to think about maintaining a healthy balance between makers and takers.\u00a0 When the population distribution of a society becomes heavily weighted towards both the young and the old, with a disproportionately small number of people in the prime years of production, then adjustments need to be made.\u00a0 Those in the middle of the curve may have to work more hours or have their efforts supplemented with more reliance on automation.\u00a0 At the same time, goods and services for the young and old may have to be reduced, hopefully only on a temporary basis.\u00a0 This is simple math, and firm progressives such as Daniel Patrick Moynihan<\/a> have embraced the concept.<\/p>\n