Didn’t any of you people live through the Reagan years?
You GROW your way out of debt. Works every time.
The Devil's Bargain Reagan made, however, included looking the other way on spending increases Tip O'Neill's House demanded. Reagan felt he had to do that to get the military expansion he wanted, but it led directly to a DC culture of never saying no to any social spending expansion, ever.
So we never successfully grew our way out of the debt. We did grow - but the debt grew even faster.