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Everybody knows that Paul Krugman is a Nobel Prize-winning economist, a sometimes combative columnist and a liberal lion. But in a conversation which aired this weekend we learned more about his personal response to an ongoing crisis he describes as "really nasty," "very, very severe," and "gratuitious," and which he says "will not go away quickly or necessary at all" unless we do something.

The public is demanding jobs, jobs, jobs so DC's wizards and geniuses are gathered at a "Fiscal Summit" -- put on by a hedge-fund billionaire -- to not talk about jobs. This summit takes place at the seat of our representative government but none of the speakers will be unemployed or homeless or poor or retired or even middle class.

The Peter G. Peterson Fiscal Summit started today with the dulcet tones of its billionaire conservative patron, Peter G. Peterson, and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner singing in harmony. It was a melody fraught with danger.

Deficit theater is coming to DC tomorrow, with a well-funded "fiscal summit." The plot summary is that we have Deficit Trouble - Right Here In River City! so to fix it we need to cut Social Security and Medica

“What's it all about, Romney?
Is it just for the moment we live?
What's it all about when you sort it out, Romney?
Are we meant to take more than we give. . .” ~With apologies to Burt Bacharach and Hal David who wrote the original song, “Alfie”

As Mitt Romney laughs while “apologizing” for bullying a fellow high school student and mocks NASCAR fans’ plastic rain slickers, he seems unaware that he comes off as Richie Rich’s evil twin.

Part of Romney’s image problem is that he leads not as a selfless Lincolnesque statesman but as an Ayn Rand greed worshiper. Setting the standard for his campaign, Romney gave a high-profile plug to a company owned and run by major donors. His son has followed in those ethically challenged footsteps by using his campaign connections to launch a business. And a campaign adviser benefitted from illicitly leaked confidential government information.

In RomneyWorld, that’s all OK. His answer to the song’s question, “Are we meant to take more than we give,” is a resounding “YES.” “What’s it all about?” For Romney, it’s about exploiting the 99 percent for the profit of the 1 percent. That vulture capitalist philosophy is bad enough in the business world, but it’s dead wrong for public service. As the head of his company, Romney made so much money that he squirreled it away in the Cayman Islands and secret Swiss bank accounts. But shadiness and avarice aren’t attributes Americans prize in the head of their country.