On a cold rainy night I was lounging at home
With a Pinot, and Tivo, and porn on my phone
When in burst the skipper all flustered and stressed
By expenses and bankers and all of that mess
So I said to my boss, turning off Geordie Shore,
“Dave, have you thought about blaming the poor?”

“They’re already downtrodden, they’ve nothing to lose
We’ll say they waste money on gambling and booze
They have too many children and live far too long
They’re shirkers and scroungers, it’s morally wrong!
Supporting them goes against what we stand for,
So let’s have a toast to scapegoating the poor!”

“My god!” exclaimed Dave, “You’re really spot on!
If we just shift the blame then our worries are gone
A few skewed statistics are all that we need
So the voters ignore our corruption and greed
I’ve got friends in high places with morals on the floor
They’re sure to help us with exploiting the poor.”

So this election when you cast your vote
Just think about who got you into this boat
Not us, Dave and Gideon, we care for your rights
We feel so acutely your middle-class plights
It’s the ones who take most yet keep asking for more
Yes, we sure did a great job of blaming the poor.

n.a.j.Grant 2015