Recently, while I was working in the flower beds in the front yard, my
neighbors stopped to chat as they returned home from walking their
During our friendly conversation, I asked their 12 year old daughter
what she wanted to be when she grows up. She said she wanted to be
Both of her parents – Labor voters - were standing there, so I
asked her, "If you were Prime Minister what would be the first thing you
She replied, "I'd give food and houses to all the homeless people."
Her parents beamed with pride!
"Wow! what a worthy goal!" I said. "But you don't have to wait until
you're Prime Minister to do that!" I told her.
"What do you mean?" she replied.
So I told her, "You can come over to my house and mow the lawn, pull
weeds, and trim my hedge, and I'll pay you $50. Then you can go over
to the grocery store where the homeless guy hangs out, and you can give
him the $50 to use toward food and a new house."
She thought that over for a few seconds, then she looked me straight in the
eye and asked, "Why doesn't the homeless guy come over and do the work, and
you can just pay him the $50?"
I said, "Welcome to the Liberal National Party."
Her parents aren't speaking to me.
