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Content: Veteran's benefits and interest would add another $250 billion ($1 Trillion in 2003 dollars). But the real cost of the war was its impact on the economy, including agriculture. After the assassination of President Kennedy in November 1963, President Lyndon Johnson vowed to carry on JFK's civil rights agenda and, after his own election, a host of social reforms known as the "Great Society." Johnson announced a "War on Poverty" and tried to quietly escalate the war in Vietnam. It didn't work. Eventually, Johnson had to admit that he was trying to pay for both "guns and butter," meaning pay for both the war and domestic programs without a tax increase. For many economists, the last truly good years in the U.S. were 1962-65 when there was almost full employment, low inflation and a favorable balance of trade. During those years, farm price supports continued to prop up rural incomes and keep food prices low. But the escalation of the war fueled inflation and also increased food prices. Johnson finally asked Congress for a tax increase in 1968, but Congress insisted that the "surcharge" would be implemented only if Johnson cut $6 billion from domestic spending.