"Net Worth" isn't the only thing. Or is it?

Paul Ryan decided to release two years of tax returns the other day, which indicates that he has a net worth of somewhere between $2 million and $7 million. Not a bad haul for a career politician, but certainly not Mitt Romney money.

Mitt - he has a net worth somewhere north of $250 million, including his gargantuan, I-don't-know-how-he-did-it IRA account worth some $20.7 million.

And President Obama is no slouch, worth about $11 million, which is good money for a guy living in federally subsidized housing - even if the housing happens to have  Pennsylvania Avenue address.

But the guy most of us can probably relate to is our own Vice President, Joe Biden. If the published reports are true, and I don't hear Mr. Biden saying they're not, he actually has a negative net-worth. That's right, the first figure in his net worth statement isn't a dollar sign, but rather a minus sign.

Other than his pension, it looks like Mr. Biden is flat broke. Or more accurately, about $500 grand in the hole.

A lot of people find this to be an embarrassment. Some have come out and said that this is part of the problem in Washington. We have a VP who clearly doesn't know how to handle money so no wonder our economy is so bad.

I disagree. I see a guy who has pretty much the same struggles that most of us have. A good paying job but not a lot of savings. A lot of expenses, his share of heartache, and a financial situation that I'm sure he's not proud of. But he presses on.

I'm sure that, when his time in public service is through, he will be asked to sit on a corporate board or two. And he will make public speaking appearances. And he will try to build up that net worth some. But in the end, he's going to be living on his pension and not a whole lot more. Like a lot of us.

I've never been a big Joe Biden fan. But I do have to admire him more now, because in him, I see a lot of similarities with people like me. Working because we HAVE to, not because we WANT to. Working to keep our heads above water, keep the bill collectors at bay, and maybe have a few bucks left over to buy a nice thing or two.

Elections shouldn't hinge on things like this. And maybe this one won't. But isn't it nice to know that, in a town where numbers are thrown around like so much Monopoly money, there's a guy who probably probably buys the store-brand potato chips? Or clips coupons? Kind of makes you think that there IS hope for the little guy.