 On 27 February , Johnson and McNamara discussed the proposed troop increase . To fulfill it would require an increase in overall military strength of about 400 @,@ 000 men and the expenditure of an additional $ 10 billion during fiscal 1969 and another $ 15 billion in 1970 . These monetary concerns were pressing . Throughout the fall of 1967 and the spring of 1968 , the U.S. was struggling with " one of the most severe monetary crises " of the period . Without a new tax bill and budgetary cuts , the nation would face even higher inflation " and the possible collapse of the monetary system " . Johnson 's friend Clifford was concerned about what the American public would think of the escalation : " How do we avoid creating the feeling that we are pounding troops down a rathole ? " 
