The $50 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 little girl what she
wanted to be when she grows up.

She said she wanted to be Prime Minister some day.

Both of her parents were standing there, so I
asked her, "If you were Prime Minister what would be the first thing you
would do?"

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 Canada ."

Her parents aren't speaking to me.