A common charge leveled against libertarians is that we are utopians whose ideas may seem good in theory but don’t work in the real world. But this is precisely backward. The true wild-eyed utopians of American politics are the Republicans and Democrats, who think they can just keep on running up spending and debt without endangering the economy.

According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the federal debt will reach 104% of gross domestic product next year and, absent serious reductions in federal spending, reach an astounding 195% of GDP by 2050.