The analogy between governments and people doesn't work, not least because governments are immortal and can print their own money.
However, if we choose to ignore this for a moment, there's a good counter-argument: the way to get rid of debt is to pay it back, and the way to pay it back is to work more and invest wisely. The individual or household that needs to pay off some debt would do better if, say, the people in the household got jobs (if they don't have them) or extra hours at work (if they do). Allowing the unemployment rate to rise as it has done in countries operating "austerity" doesn't fit that analogy at all.
My point is not that the above argument is correct, just that it's possible to argue both for and against austerity using "intuitive" arguments based on analogies with households, and these are rarely correct. That said, neither are most of our mainstream economic theories! (At least some of them must be dead wrong, as they can't all be right).
> governments are immortal and can print their own money
The part with governments "can print their own money" is actually incorrect for many European countries. That is the main problem for the PIIGs right now.
Why is this downvoted? The statement is correct. You can argue if it's the main problem, but it's certainly a problem. The countries in the Euro zone cannot print their own money at will.
In many developing countries, there is no option to work harder, get another job, or work at all. The opportunities just do not exist, and the cycle perpetuates. This is why the New Deal was so necessary, it was a jumpstart to the economy by getting people back to work anyway possible.
> governments are immortal and can print their own money
The part with governments being "immortal" is actually incorrect. The fact is that for example UK paper money is just that, colored paper, when it comes to paying up debts taken in foreign currency. A couple of failed States come to mind as examples, like Germany in the early 1920s and Argentina in the late 1990s.
However, if we choose to ignore this for a moment, there's a good counter-argument: the way to get rid of debt is to pay it back, and the way to pay it back is to work more and invest wisely. The individual or household that needs to pay off some debt would do better if, say, the people in the household got jobs (if they don't have them) or extra hours at work (if they do). Allowing the unemployment rate to rise as it has done in countries operating "austerity" doesn't fit that analogy at all.
My point is not that the above argument is correct, just that it's possible to argue both for and against austerity using "intuitive" arguments based on analogies with households, and these are rarely correct. That said, neither are most of our mainstream economic theories! (At least some of them must be dead wrong, as they can't all be right).