At more than $34.3 trillion, the fact the national debt is truly a national liability is becoming hard for politicians to hide. Especially since paying the interest owed on the national debt has become the fastest growing major category of government spending.

The same politicians responsible for running up the national debt are now trying to sell their solutions for fixing the nation’s fiscal problems. “It’s easy,” they say. “We won’t ever have to do anything to fix it that will hurt you!” And then they trot out their latest poll-tested proposals. Here are two very common pitches they make:

Both these ideas are political snake oil. The idea that faster economic growth can make the national debt manageable was shot down by........

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