Long ago, I decided to quit being nice when it came to politics. When you tip-toe around every issue or water-down how you feel about certain individuals in government, you basically give them a pass. I’m tired of that, on both sides. I voted for Obama in 2008, but I’ll also be the first to admit that he has thoroughly underwhelmed me on major issues like health care. Sure, he’s out with a vengeance now, but where was he for the previous 10-12 months?

Likewise, I’ll certainly call Senators and Representatives on their bullshit. Take Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan (R) for example. He is the Paul Ryan that has crafted a budget proposal that some members of his party like and others are rightfully wary of. I personally had only seen bullet points and short passages about it up to this point. I dismissed it because it was being dismissed by most of the news outlets I saw it mentioned on. Not my finest moment, admittedly, but after being up to my nose in politics and horserace for the past two or three years, I’ve been feeling a little burned out as of late. So when it came to a virtually unknown Congressman’s long-shot budget proposal, I basically punted and changed the channel.

But then I read an article on Mother Jones about his proposal and saw this chart-

Since this is a humor blog based around snarky commentary and sophomoric humor, I’m going to go ahead and assume that most of you reading this land somewhere in the bottom 80% of the income range. I know I do. So, putting politics aside for a moment, what do numbers like this say to you. Just first impressions, please.

I’ll tell you what they say to me. They say that Paul Ryan doesn’t give two shits about his constituency, first of all. The median income of Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District is just a shade over $50,000 a year. Which falls right into the Middle 20% on the chart above. This means that Paul Ryan actually thinks it’s a good idea to raise taxes $1894 a year on the majority of his constituency in the middle of a recession, while giving himself a $2301 a year decrease, seeing as he makes a reported $174,000 a year as a Congressman. In fact, it’s probably safe to say that he pulls in a little more than just his congressional salary during the year, so he more likely will get the $10,000 reduction to his taxes.

Total douche move.

Not only does Ryan’s idea for a tax plan not create any revenue, it also lowers taxes for the rich while raising them across the board for the middle class and poor. Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green Party, whatever, you can’t tell me that this looks like a good idea for anyone. Except rich people. Because if there’s one thing that rich people need more than anyone else, it’s a tax break. Never mind that the income gap between the top 1% and the rest of us chumps is the highest it has been since before the Great Depression, these rich folks need a tax break. Don’t worry, we can take it out of everyone else’s pocket, and still not come out ahead. I don’t know much about tax code and crafting a national budget, but from a pure fiscal standpoint, how is that even remotely a good idea?

So, Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, you are a total douche. I hearby invite you to pull your head out of your own ass and look around a little. Because you’re obviously not paying attention to the world around you, if this proposal is any indication, you dickhead.