It wouldn't have lasted.
The appetite of the government for money is literally infinite. If you think that surplus, fed by new taxes, would have gone to "pay down the debt" instead of being chewed up by glorious new government programs, I've got a bridge to sell you. End result: more debt and high taxes.
In California, during the late 1990s, revenues climbed rapidly. But spending climbed a lot faster. Far faster than population, inflation, or any other real need. When the revenues dried up, the deficit landed like a ton of bricks.