Delving Into a Place I need to Learn More About

I just read a longish economic article from the New York Review of Books by Paul Krugman.  I'm no economist, but I slogged my way through this and learned a bit and have a few questions.  The premise hinges on the question of Should you spend your way out of a Depression,or seek austerity and  not spend.  You can read the article and draw your own conclusions.

My questions include the idea that Greece could have helped itself more if they had spent more borrowed money, and why have the elite (wealthy) done well while the median income has fallen.  Who have "our" policies helped?

I leave you with a quote from the end of the article: "It’s a terrible story, mainly because of the immense suffering that has resulted from these policy errors. It’s also deeply worrying for those who like to believe that knowledge can make a positive difference in the world. To the extent that policymakers and elite opinion in general have made use of economic analysis at all, they have, as the saying goes, done so the way a drunkard uses a lamppost: for support, not illumination. "