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Content: 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. The tax increase slowed the U.S. economy. In addition, spending on the Vietnam war hurt the U.S. balance of trade, and that led to an international monetary crisis and threat to U.S. gold reserves in 1967-68. Many of the problems were left to the Nixon and Ford administrations to deal with. A hike in food prices, in particular, led to wage and price controls from 1971-73, an embargo on exports of soybeans and cottonseed and a freeze on beef prices in 1973. All of those actions, precipitated by the Vietnam War, hurt farmers.