That is only mostly true. In practical terms the opposite of austerity is inflation, and consumers really don't like paying more for things knowing they are becoming dramatically poorer. Austerity is challenging to measure, but debt and inflation are not.
At some point the music stops and a lot of people will be left without a chair. That's when austerity becomes a rally cry.
> That is only mostly true. In practical terms the opposite of austerity is inflation
Weimar says inflation creates fascism too. Not surprising because scientifically speaking, any sufficiently developed inflation is austerity by another name.