Sorry, but this one is not simple. The thing we need to get rid of is the system set in place in 1913 which basically implemented Alexander Hamilton's idea about using government debt as a main basis for money.
Under present rules, government BORROWS money into existence and we sit around paying interest on money which banks create out of thin air while, clearly, if anybody trusted governments to do it, they could as easily create money out of thin air themselves with no interest being owed.
Austerity IS bad for business and we need a real solution, but simplicity is not likely to be part of that solution.
GOVERNMENT austerity is NEVER bad for business. The source of Government spending is ALWAYS from taxes (think 'spread the wealth') and therefore takes the choice of how it is spent within the economy away from the 'earner' and gives it to the Government. How's that working out?
President Ronald Reagan knew this in his very bones ... The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.
Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.