The Christian Science Monitor has an ingenious explainer for the fiscal cliff which uses Stones lyrics. Here’s the first part…

“I was born in a cross-fire hurricane” (from “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” 1968)

How did this fiscal cliff originate, anyway? Basically, in a gathering storm of partisan disagreement. For years,Republicans in Congress have resisted the idea of tax hikes as a way to close federal deficits. And Democrats have resisted Republican ideas on reducing the size of government by curbing some types of federal spending.

Check out the whole thing. It’s in plain English, and pretty clever. Here’s some background music for reading it.