lifestyle leader

Another lesson from the crisis that I would add to Martin's list: America's economic policies are way more "extreme" than European ones, both in their deregulation leading into the crises and in their Keynesian-style reaction to the crisis. The only country that I can think of that has undergone a more radical turnaround in economic policymaking is Iceland, and they're the ones blowing up their Land Rovers because it's cheaper than trying to pay them back.