Yes, I feel like the 2 rules for studying President Reagan should be:

1) Take with a bucket of salt anything Democrats said about him DURING his presidency.

2) Take with a bucket of salt anything Republicans have said about him AFTER his presidency.

We really should start calling it The European Plan. The Republicans will love that.

The only problem with the European vs US approach to the economic downturn is the fact that the social safety net and human services programs in place in Europe is so much bigger than what is available here. So while their cuts have been severe to them, if we had what they still have, it would seem overly generous. It's difficult to compare our minor increases with their cutbacks.

Eurocrats will party until someone calls them on their overvalued currency.

Reagan's deficit spending worked to briefly balance the budget TWELVE YEARS LATER?

Time spent on rational, cogent argumentation against today's conservatives would be better spent whacking moles in your front lawn.

Targeted austerity while still spending on jobs seems to be a balanced approach that is currently working here. The Greeks got what they deserved. They had a cultural proclivity to over-borrow.

Keynes considered tax cuts to be government-induced stimulus. So when repubs say they are not Keynesians they are not being truthful.

@5, yes, this is exactly the Republican position.

You should read what Bruce Bartlett, one of the architects of Reaganomics, and author of several influential supply-side economics books, has to say about today's Republicans:

http://occupyamerica.crooksandliars.com/…

The Republicans want austerity AND more tax cuts. They're Keynesians all right; Keynesians who exclusively advocate for the wealthy.

Don't forget the effect of the massive runup in defense spending during those years.