This is a strawman. Austerity isn't a cure, it's a consequence. If you spend too much and have too much debt, you can't borrow more to make the problem go away; you're just delaying the inevitable.
The debate is maybe best exemplified by the debate between Krugman ("against austerity") and Reinhart/Rogoff ("pro austerity").
> Nobel laureate Paul Krugman refused to back down in a dispute with Harvard University economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff over a 2010 paper they wrote that’s been used to justify austerity in the U.S. and Europe.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-05-28/krugman-f...
https://www.theguardian.com/business/ng-interactive/2015/apr...
EDIT to add:
I'd also assume any show that bills itself as "Paul Krugman's column refuted, week after week!" is more of an ideological security blanket than real intellectual engagement or critique.
I believe you'd find the intellectual engagement and critiques within the podcast, not the subtitle.
No, I doubt it. If they think they can refute [1] like clockwork future columns they've never seen, it's almost certain they're just rehashing dogmas for the faithful. I have better things to spend my time on than that.
[1] a very strong word, by the way
There are consequences for overspending and overborrowing. We don't have a way to paper over that. You can pay today or you can tomorrow with interest.
> You can pay today or you can tomorrow with interest.
Yes, that's how it works with individuals or households. For countries, it's a bit more complicated than that.
Finally, note that Trump's uncalled for tax cut has significantly increased US debt for basically no benefit (except enriching corporations and the very rich), while those arguing against austerity would want to incur some debt for productive purposes, enhancing growth down the line.
You can pay today or you can have the next generation pay for it tomorrow with interest.
This is what we are seeing right now. Previous generations lived on public debt and funded their infrastructure, their services, and their retirements and pensions with debt which has to be paid out of current tax payers revenues. This has left us in a situation where so much tax money is being used to pay back debt in the form of bonds, pensions, etc. This has seen a reduction in school quality, in infrastructure maintenance, public services, etc because the money isn't there to pay for these things.
And then I see young people today cheering for Warren's plan to increase benefits for the elderly, unaware that this comes out of their pocket. That this will take away their services and their infrastructure and their future.