The myth of a failing Europe

"The lesson of the Irish debacle, then, is very nearly the opposite of what Mr. Ryan would have us believe. It doesn’t say 'cut spending now, or bad things will happen'; it says that balanced budgets won’t protect you from crisis if you don’t effectively regulate your banks — a point made in the newly released report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which concludes that '30 years of deregulation and reliance on self-regulation' helped create our own catastrophe. Have I mentioned that Republicans are doing everything they can to undermine financial reform?"

Their Own Private Europe - The New York Times