has the u s ever had a budget surplus 
yes during the clinton presidency the federal government was able to reduce spending and increase revenues turning a large deficit into a small surplus the last year where the government ran a budget surplus was in 2001 the bottom linebudget surpluses occur whenever an entity has more income than it spends this includes companies and governments individuals can also have surpluses although they re normally called savings having a surplus can be beneficial because those funds can be used to pay off debt or fund new investments but there are risks to running a surplus which include increased taxation or pricing and a loss of revenue so whether an entity runs a surplus or a deficit can often be a double edged sword 