Norman Lindsay has a lot to answer for. Successive generations of Australian children have grown into adults believing that government welfare is a magic pudding that's always there and available to all. "Eat away, chew away, munch and bolt and guzzle, Never leave the table till you're full up to the muzzle."
Successive generations of politicians have bribed them with more and more of it and armies of accountants and financial planners have shown them how to still partake of it even though they live in million-dollar houses and own half of BHP. "We've Puddin' here a treat, We've Puddin' here galore; Do not decline to stay and dine, Our Puddin' you'll adore."
And they're the legitimate ones. Add the millions who keep their money under the mattress or in trusts, who work in the black economy (or deliberately not at all), who fake illness or identity, and you arrive at today's staggering welfare bill of $300,000 a minute! A MINUTE!!!
Still, I'm standing my ground. I expect to be made 'Australian of the Year' very soon for being the only one left who's not yet a pudding thief.
Pudding thief? Wait on a minute, a $300,000-minute! Their own sons and daughters ought to call them welfare thieves because by the time it's their turn, the pudding will have lost its magic and there's nothing left. "I hope you get it hot, You puddin'-eatin' lot !"
P.S. Want to meet some of the people who get your money? Click here.
