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historic on Instagram: "President Bill Clinton famously drew a giant “0” during a White House event celebrating the first proposed balanced federal budget …"
President Bill Clinton famously drew a giant “0” during a White House event celebrating the first proposed balanced federal budget in nearly 30 years. While the image is often labeled as taking place in 1999, the ceremony actually occurred on February 2, 1998, when Clinton unveiled his fiscal year 1999 budget proposal alongside Vice President Al Gore. The “0” symbolized eliminating the federal budget deficit after decades of red ink. The moment became one of the defining images of Clinton’s presidency. The U.S. went on to record budget surpluses from fiscal years 1998 through 2001, the last time the federal government has run consecutive annual surpluses. While economists still debate how much credit belongs to the administration, Congress, and the booming 1990s economy, the photo remains an enduring symbol of a rare period when the federal budget moved into the black.
