Makers and Takers: How Wealth and Progress Are Made and How They Are Taken Away or Prevented

By Edmund Contoski

Book Overview

Makers and Takers shows how the free market works--and why government intervention doesn't. It examines various forms of economic intervention (taxation, regulation, monetary policy) and their effects... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0965500748
• ISBN13: 9780965500746
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: American Liberty Publishers
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Blend of Theory and Fact...

I've never been a fan of economic theory books. At one point in my more left-wing activist days I had a lady friend who dearly wanted me to read Karl Marx, but I have to confess I more or less fell asleep after the first few pages. Of course I read the Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, but when Rand's libertarian ideas started pounding economic theory for more than a paragraph I kind of skipped ahead to the next "action-sequence." I was led to Mr. Contoski's work after reading an essay he had written concerning smoking bans. His ideas seemed interesting and I had a friend I thought would be interested in reading one of his books. I purchased Makers and Takers and, as I often do with "book presents," cheated a bit by checking it out before wrapping it up with bows and ribbons. Heh... well, THAT idea didn't work out too well: I ended up reading and dog-earing the entire volume and had to purchase a SECOND one for my gift-giving! Makers and Takers is a beautiful blend of theory and fascinating historical reference to back that theory up. Mr. Contoski's research is extraordinary in its scope and presented in way that even those who profess to be bored to tears with political economics will find themselves reluctant to put it down until they've finished. His basic premise seems simple enough - that "production" only comes from individuals and that the primary "taker" and waster of that production tends to be government - but he explores all the various facets of that argument and offers example after sad example of cases where the efforts and accomplishments of good people have been appropriated and destroyed by governmental powers and regulations. Overall I would strongly recommend Makers and Takers as an excellent introduction to the argument for Libertarian/Conservative economic theory (and also just as a very enjoyable reading experience!) Michael J. McFadden Author of Dissecting Antismokers' Brains

Remarkable synthysis of philosophy and a wealth of data.

Contowski marshalls an astonishingly usefull array of facts (from taxation to environment) in support of human freedom and agaist governmental intervention. Especially good at explaining why human ingenuity trumps fears of resource depletion.This is the book that Bjorn Lomberg needs to read to understand why the statistics he understands so well, support a wholly different world view than he still clings to.

How Wealth and Progress are made,

As a nation we have just closed a trying chapter on American Government in action. A determined Special Prosecutor, with an unlimited budget, turned loose with no one holding the reigns, almost brought the Presidency crumbling to the ground. Many people railed against the depth of intrusion that was imposed on the first family. But if you stop to think about it, perhaps government was only getting a dose of their own medicine: being repaid for their intervention and intrusion into the private life's of its citizens. In Edmund's book this intrusion is explained and outlined in such a fashion that readers can understand and follow. In the early part of this century America experienced huge creative and inventive leaps. These advances made the inventors and the producers (makers) rich, giving birth to the American Dream. Seeing this, government decided they needed more of a share- "for the greater good". Contoski details how the takers (government and big business) have since intervened and taken a larger piece of the pie by passing laws that benefit them and which keep the "makers" plodding along a treadmill, chasing after an "American Dream" that as been quietly stolen away from us bit by bit. Never a fan of economics or finance- I wondered if I could provide a good or objective review of this publication. Edmund has made this easy to understand and an interesting read. You'll find yourself nodding your head as you read his examples, and saying to yourself, " Yeah, I can see that now." He fully explains the origins of the American system and how it fed and nurtured an unprecedented number of "makers.Then, just as deftly he highlights the subtle changes in our political belief system and orientation. These changes often so subtle that they have, until now, remained unnoticeable. This book should be required reading for every registered voter in the U.S. Amazing facts you can read about in the book MAKERS AND TAKERS 1200 people die unnecessarily because of the Food and Drug Administrations 5 year delay in approving the drug nitrazepam; Over 100,000 people die from the FDA's 7 year delay in approving beta blockers; The federal government-while posing as the protector of the environment-is the nation's largest polluter. The Defense Dept. alone generates more hazardous waste than the five largest chemical companies combined. Other sources of pollution include federal prisons, hospitals-and even the EPA itself. A million Peruvians became infected with cholera-and 10,000 died-after chlorination of drinking water was stopped because of EPA policy. Read how EPA falsified sulfur dioxide emission studies in order to force stringent regulations on utility companies and other coal-burning industries. Leslie BlanchardEditor A Writer's Choice Literary Journal ISSN: 1521-2319 http://members.spree.com/writer/ & The Bear's Den- Spoken Word Poetry http://members.tripod.com/bearpoet icq# 3

My favorite book since "The Road to Serfdom"!

The book makes understandable the essense of the struggle between the left and right in the United States and throughout the world. It starts with the beginning of civilization and leads right up to today.