Some people say, either you’re a maker … or a taker. And today makers and takers are battling for America’s soul.

Arthur Brooks says "It’s a battle because we’re deciding on our culture... Because the government is threatening to take us from a maker nation into taker nation status."

He points out "60% of Americans take more out of the public finance system than they pay in. They get more in public services than they pay in taxes. "

Star Parker was a taker. She lived off welfare for 7 years. She says the welfare bureaucracy encouraged her to be irresponsible… and stay dependent.

She says "It's so much easier to take than to make. I never even thought about it. I think that that's one of the greatest tragedies of becoming a taker is you don't think about that somebody else had to make this."

A Classic Stossel from 2009.