Krugman doesn't believe that there's any problem with unlimited debt, so of course, he's not going to want austerity. Why would you make sacrifices when you get everything you want, today, for free?
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.
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.
You're caricaturing Krugman's view. First, he doesn't advocate for "unlimited debt" or think that there is no problem with it. He says that with the current interest rates, for many countries it would be better to take on additional debt than to engage in austerity, both in the short and in the long term. Second, he argues that the Kenneth/Rogoff paper showing some sudden onset of bad consequences at some magic level of debt/GDP is mistaken and misguided.
> 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.
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.