The Vietnam War was responsible for a heavy strain on the financial resources of the US economy. Due to the war exigency, there was a negative imbalance in the industrial sector. Factories which were manufacturing consumer goods had to shift their onus towards catering to the demands of the military. A war never benefits anyone; this statement proved right to America too.

Due to excessive military spending and diversion of funds overseas, the dollar weakened. There was no equivalent amount of funds coming into the country. The country cringed under the strain of household social spending and subsidies on one side and military expenditure on the other. The government earned dissatisfaction from the general public as the interest rates rose and inflationary trends ballooned. The affluent lifestyle of the 60s which prevailed in the US began to erode because of the economic paralysis which laid the country forlorn in the 70s' Vietnam War.