During the first half of 1998, America crossed an historic threshold. Six years after we put
in place a new economic strategy, America’s economy continued to reach new heights. Most
dramatically, the Federal budget deficit—a number once so incomprehensibly large that it had
11 zeros—became merely zero. By May, we were projecting the first budget surplus since
Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. This seismic shift, from an era of deficits to an era of
surpluses, was the result of 6 years of hard work by the American people, and of tough
choices made in Washington. The new era of budget surpluses would mean new opportunities
and new challenges, and it would demand a new national debate about how best to use our
hard-won prosperity. In my State of the Union address I sought to launch and frame this
debate with four words: save Social Security first. I believed we had a duty to use the fruits
of our prosperity to prepare for the challenges of the 21st century.
advertisement