(MONEY Magazine) – President Gerald Ford looked approvingly on singer Vikki Carr's WIN button in 1974. The White House gave out some 20 million buttons as part of its Whip Inflation Now campaign, which exhorted Americans to curb spending and waste. It's hard to say whether the program was successful or not. Over the next four years, inflation slowed a bit from its 11% rate in 1974 but later surged, reaching a peak of 13.5% in 1980.