The $50.00 lesson

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 dog.
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 President
some day.

Both of her parents - liberal Democrats - were standing there, so I asked
her, "If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?"

She thought for a minute and then 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 President 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 Republican Party." Her parents aren't speaking to
me anymore.

............