WASHINGTON, D.C.: The budget negotiations were half over before they began, says TIME correspondent Jef McAllister, who notes that President Clinton was able to maneuver key Republicans into feeling vulnerable. "They felt a lot of pressure to compromise, both from the President and from the country as a whole," he says. The result is a budget that will supposedly secure a historic balanced budget by 2002. One victory for the GOP: A break on capital gains taxes.
So how does it affect you? Figure it out yourself.