In light of Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) “courageous” and “serious” 2012 budget proposal, as many establishment pundits have called it, I can’t help but wonder: where on the class ladder does Paul Ryan fall?  As it turns out, in 2009 Ryan had a net worth of $590,092 to $2,425,000.  That’s a lot of money, way more than most Americans have.  So it’s no surprise that Ryan can so easily promote the slashing of Medicaid and privatization of Medicare, as his budget does, since those are services that he will never need. But it’s not just Rep. Paul Ryan.

According to a study by the Center for Responsive Politics released late last year, nearly half of the members in congress — 261 — were millionaires, compared to about 1 percent of Americans. The study also pointed out that 55 of these congressional millionaires had an average calculated wealth in 2009 of $10 million dollars and up, with eight in the $100 million-plus range.  A more recent study released last month, found that 60 percent of Senate freshman and more than 40 percent of House freshmen of the 112th congress are millionaires.

Why is this so important?  Because very few of our lawmakers know what it’s like to struggle financially.  Millionaires can generally afford healthcare without grappling with unemployment, foreclosure, or an empty refrigerator.  The majority of our representatives haven’t a clue what the daily lives of the people they represent are like.  They are constantly arguing that we all must sacrifice with our pensions, our wages, our children’s education, the security of our communities, while they sit atop piles of money, probably grinning Mr. Burns style.

The wealth divide between “we the people” and our representatives has caused a severe disconnect, one which our country desperately needs to face.  These budget cuts amount to class warfare, and the longer we ignore it, the more they are going to take away.

Update: Just when I thought the Ryan Proposal could not frustrate me further, I read this analysis by Paul Krugman:

Ryan is proposing huge (and largely unspecified) spending cuts; but he’s also proposing very large tax cuts, mainly, of course, for those with high incomes. And as you can see, a large part — roughly half — of the spending cuts are going, not to deficit reduction, but to finance those tax cuts.

I guess it’s no surprise Ryan and his fellow supporters in congress are serving the interests of their bank accounts, since they would profit from even more tax cuts for the rich.  That this man has the audacity to kill programs that tens of millions of people depend on for their very survival, not to reduce the deficit, as he claims, but to pay for even more tax cuts for his exclusive millionaires’ club, is twisted.  This is welfare for the rich, financed by the elderly, disabled, and poor.  What a stand up guy.