Was it Milton Friedman who said—with great sadness, no doubt—that "there is no free brunch?"

How tough is it out there now that the sequester is in, what, a second week?

Here's the lowdown from Steven Rattner, the plutocrat named by Barack Obama to oversee the government's illegal, unprofitable, and sadly bipartisan auto bailout.

For the record, Rattner is, according to a 2009 Bloomberg Businessweek article, "worth at least $188 million."

You know what? When my kid can't apply for a summer internship program at the federal government due to automatic spending reductions, it's a recession. But when the son of a guy worth at least $188 million, who appears on Morning Joe alot, and is on a first-name basis with the president can't apply to a Defense Department young lords internship programme—let me tell, that's a depression.

And it's not just limited to Rattner, whom Businessweek said could be worth more than $600 million. No, this rotten economy has fallen like snow on the rich and even the merely incredibly wealthy alike, as a subsequent Rattner tweet made plain:

If you want to follow Rattner's real-time tweeting of life among the 1 Percent of the 1 Percent—or if you want to show your solidarity by telling him your kids' problems – send him a tweet at @SteveRattner. If your net worth is high enough, I'm sure he'd like to hear your kids' tale of woe.

And for even more true tales of desperation from the sequester—no White House tours! reduced budgets for military bands! – read "5 Scenes from a Sequestered America."

Related: "Now Dems worry: Did President Obama Cry Wolf?"