I agree with your points but debt and austerity are caused by the wealthy. First they fail to realize that there is no one else who can pay for the debt. Second, the rich fail to realize that their own wealth is jeopardized to a greater degree by the failure of their country. Perhaps they can move their wealth to another country if they are lucky, either way they are not patriots. The wealthy write the laws and set the agenda. It’s not just austerity it’s also about the rich not paying taxes.

There is a solution, read my book Optimizing America.