Don’t forget the energy boom thanks to GHW Bush’s stabilization of the Middle East by booting Saddam out of Kuwait. Oil prices remained incredibly low for most of the decade.
Yet even then, even with all those advantages, Newt & Co. were unable to make a dent in the national debt.
Consider, on the other hand, Andrew Mellon, Sec Treas under Harding/Coolidge, who with proper cutting of the government and tax cuts shaved 1/3 off the national debt in 7 years.
The budget estimates mandatory spending will be $2.841 trillion in FY 2020. Social Security was by far the biggest expense at $1.102 trillion.
Medicare was next at $679 billion, followed by Medicaid at $418 billion.
https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-federal-budget-breakdown-3305789