Stop What You are Doing. Go See this Movie! I.O.U.S.A.

This is the single most important film you will see this year. As a somewhat unsuccessful, but passionate, purveyor of all things lacking an absolute -- particularly in the area of judging the arts and particularly on an annual basis -- I can comfortably say it again, hell, I will profess it:

I.O.U.S.A. is the most crucial film, the "must see film", of this year.

This is not a brilliant work of cinema. It isn't daring in form, nor is it gleaming in its aesthetic. In fact, it has a few problems. The real power here is what the picture is about: Our national debt.

Don't be alarmed; this isn't some sterile run down of facts and figures. Rather, it is an extremely accessible and sensibly presented showcase of the problems facing our current fiscal policy. The filmmakers pull out the stops -- high-ranking interviews, animated graphs and charts, some blistering facts, and even a children's story by Warren Buffet. (And by the way, the film also received standing ovations at Sundance where it was nominated for a Grand Jury prize this year).

I walked into the theatre expecting a diatribe of sorts -- most likely of the (old school) conservative or even (Ron Paul) Libertarian color. What I got was neither. Now, the film is certainly opinionated and does take some broad strokes, which is somewhat necessary, as it does so in an attempt to keep the material easy to digest. That said, there isn't an agenda greater than simply using facts to educate the public on what is happening to our country's ability to stay financially solvent.

The film's central characters are Robert Bixby, the executive director of the Concord Coalition (a non-partisan public advocacy group that promotes fiscal responsibility) and former GAO Comptroller General David Walker. Both have used their respective positions to educate the American people on the dangers of our skyrocketing debt and its myriad causes. The filmmaker's choice to fixate on these two men was one that I have groaned over since my first viewing. They aren't charismatic, overtly interesting, or colorful characters. In fact, they seem more like over-involved high school teachers that are desperately trying to get their ADD-addled classrooms (the public at large) in order. After much thought it does become apparent that the two are the perfect protagonists for the picture (and cause) because of their passion and standing to discuss the subject matter with a nuanced authority that others would lack.

I think it is an interesting tactic on behalf of the filmmakers to restrict their opinions from running free when handing it to some of the film's targeted subjects beyond suggesting that we currently have a "leadership deficit". For example, yes, they do ask Mr. Alan Greenspan some hard(er) questions, but he isn't put to task as he should have been. Another example is the handling of our economy by our current administration. I suppose to keep to its spirit of non-partisanship, the film suggests, but never really points a heavy finger like I might have if I was given the reigns. I do find it somewhat funny (and somewhat frightening) that the mud slung toward our current fearless leaders seems to be done without the filmmakers even trying. After hearing a laundry list of problems espoused during the first three quarters of the picture, our boy George paints himself the uber-intellectual with such senseless drivel as the following answer to a reporter's questioning if we are heading into a recession: "You need to talk to economists. I think I got a B in Economy 101. I got an A however, in keeping taxes low" -- and apparently in keeping our debt high, our workers strapped for cash, our housing market collapsing, and our prominence on the international stage sinking ever lower.

I think that we as a people are just as much to blame and I.O.U.S.A. does not let us off the hook. It hits on the idea -- again and again -- that we are over-consumers and much of our financial woes can be blamed on ourselves. This is our country. The federal government is supposed to be an extension of us and we consistently vote for and support politicians whose policies run rampant over our lives -- both Republican AND Democrat. We don't know how to save, we overspend, we covet things that we really don't need, and worst of all, we have let our government govern us, rather than us govern it. As Greenspan candidly states in the film, "Human beings cannot survive unless they create provisions for the future". And as a country, we are lacking any semblance of this.

I know that understanding the nuances that sleep in bed with these issues are much more far-reaching and complex than an 85 minute film could even begin to touch on. That said, I do sincerely believe that the tragic way in which we have let our government run our finances has slowly become one of the core causes of so many of our troubles; whether looking at our creeping toward a form of quasi-fascist corporatism, our lessening of civil liberties, the poor quality of our food, or the malicious way in which we have felt forced to throw our clumsy weight around on the international stage.

As the film presents the government's own figures in regards to the amount of foreign debt owed, the irrational spending, and tax cuts we have experienced over recent years, it becomes apparent that either our republic's leaders are morbidly incompetent or are systematically working in tandem to help bring down the supposed greatest country in existence. The picture quotes former W. appointed Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neil (he was asked to resign and instead walked due to "differences") as claiming to have been told by Vice President Cheney that "We don't have to worry about defecits". And why not? The film also lays claim (again via the governments own figures) that by the middle of this century the Federal government's total budget will consist of Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and paying interest on the national debt -- that's it. If that's not the product of a long-standing conspiracy to bankrupt this democracy, destroying it from within, then I don't know what is.

I think the most astounding figure presented illustrates our debt to our three leading lenders: China, Japan and the oil exporting Middle East. While there is something to be said of the idea that these economic relationships stabilize otherwise volatile opponents, it can also be pointed out that we are stabilizing them at the cost of being forced to act in ways and accept certain realities that would otherwise not have to exist under alternative arrangements.

So, while the thieves are enjoying their conventions and high-priced hobnobbing over the next few weeks, go out and put your dollars to use (before they turn into heating material) and support I.O.U.S.A. -- a film that stands to really help in the waking up process that I think (and hope) our country is heading toward.

I leave you with some (typically) prophetic words from one of our country's great political thinkers:

"There does not exist an engine so corruptive of the government and so demoralizing of the nation as a public debt. It will bring on us more ruin at home than all the enemies from abroad against whom this army and navy are to protect us." --Thomas Jefferson, 1821

I.O.U.S.A. opens in 10 cities on August 21 and will continue rolling out to additional markets thereafter. The film will also be playing during both the Democratic and Republican Conventions.

Comments

[robinhood2]

If the movie is that important for the public to see, bring it out on DVD as soon as possible and have the fat cats interested in the national debt make available free DVD copies to every public library and school library in the country. I don't think the average American is going to shell out $10 or so to see the movie at the neighborhood multiplex.

[Halsey]

I've not yet seen the movie..but hope it talks about Medicare Plan B...which...I think Walker discussed on 60 minutes many many months ago. the "greatest" generation­...okay...­they did know sacrifice..gas rationing, no chocolate..no silk stockings...I don't thing we "boomers" would handle it as well..BUT..and this is my point..the GREATEST generation..also got to buy houses, for $16,000..that today...sell for millions...they GOT every last bit of medical care paid for thanks to FDR and LBJ...my own parents..go to a doctor at least once a month...why...cause they don't have to PAY for it..so ..why not just go..instead of changing your diet if you feel a little "punky"..(­hmm...baco­n and ice cream will do that)...and..My father actually LAUGHS at paying $1.00 for an entire prescription..which he may or may not even take..and..he says.."I'm spending your inheritance"...like it's a joke... The greatest generation..has bankrupt us..and they (most)...vote republican­..cause..n­othing is worse that making the uber-rich pay higher taxes (even if my parents are basically living of social security)...they still fear taxes....and it it pointless to try to understand their mentality...

[SisterAnn]

I am not spending a penny to fatten the coffers of these rich old white men who want to privatise Social Security and Medicare. I have read enough about it to know it is slanted.

Clinton was paying down the deficit with the Social Security surplus, so there would be plenty of money to pay back the surplus, as it was needed by the boomers.

So what did Bush do when he took office? He gave money away, he cut taxes on the rich, he made everything in government cost more by privatising what he could. Plus he has kept a very profitable war going, while borrowing the money to fund it from China and Japan. That is the same as charging the war bills to the taxpayer, because we will pay the deficit when China and Japan want their money back.

They have even privatised the military. There is no army cook, food is cooked by private businesses. Guards for Military bases are hired outside of the military.

Bush and his minions have spent every penny they can, enriching the rich, charged everything they could, running up the deficit. Privatising has doubled the cost of government, while the income from taxes has stayed the same. This is the only time in history that a country didn't raise taxes to pay for a war.

I am surprised that Warren Buffet is in the film. He has been an advocate of higher taxes for the rich and saving Social Security.

[DuganS1]

Bush cut taxes for everyone, even for the bottom 50% of households that didn't pay any federal income tax to begin with. The top tax bracket was cut from 39.6% gradually to 35%, not a huge move by any stretch. The tax cuts were necessary to mitigate the 2001-2003 recessionary and deflationary conditions. The budget deficits in 2005, 2006, and 2007 were very small, some of the smaller budgets of the past 40 years (including three of four Carter budgets). Note that I do believe taxes should be raised on the top tax bracket, probably to 42%, higher than what it was during the Clinton years, to help balance the budget. But we can't do it while the economy is in recession, a mistake that Herbert Hoover made and cost the economy dearly.

[bbwitz]

interestingly enough, Warren Buffet talked about how he paid 15% taxes as though that was a good thing . . .he also presented such a rosy picture of the future, the pie will get bigger and bigger, more to go around for all etc etc, i'm not sure what planet he's living on .. . oh that's right, he's on planet of the rich old white men . . . .

[peterwknox]

Saw this movie last night and it's something I could call mandatory viewing for everyone - for those in power making the tough decisions and for those affected that need to understand them. It's a chilling doc only because the situation is so real, and my generation will be greatly affected by our government's fiscal irresponsibility and spending today.

Can't wait until the dvd comes out in October, but even more so I'm looking forward to the book, which comes out September 29th ( http://www.amazon.com/I-O-U-S-Addison-Wiggin/dp/0470222778/ ). Wiggin's Demise of the Dollar was the catalyst for IOUSA, and I'm really interested in seeing the full and complete interviews of everyone involved in the movie, collected in the book.

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

The Chinese can wear T-shirts with the slogans: I OWN USA.

[bbwitz]

DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!
IOUSA never mentions --
-- that Big Oil does not pay their fair share of taxes. (ditto many of our largest corporations.)
--the tax cuts to the richest 2% (refers to them only as 'tax cuts) and the effect of extending them into perpetuity.
-- the real effects of war in Iraq & Afghanistan; this is minimized (as Condi Rice signs a Star War defense for Poland , further escalating the arms race) .
IOUSA was the same old, same old, old white men propounding 'reform' of social security and Medicare as the answer.
No thinking outside the box at IOUSA.
The audience hissed at booed at the screen, further expressing their sentiments by walking out.
This movie bills itself as 'what An Inconvenient Truth was for the environment, IOUSA is for the economy -- NO WAY

[joebhed]

I posted my earlier comment in the general vein that I have been posting here for a couple of years.

The most outlandish aspect of our national debt is that it has been created by the government GIVING AWAY the privileged power to the private banks to LEND the government the money that the government itself could create. Without debt.
THINK ABOUT IT.

After I read up on the background of the financier and the producer of this film, I raise a warning to all Americans and especially those of a progressive political leaning. This is THE power grab.

By focusing on the national debt in the manner done here, and on the deficits of the government, yes, I see an effort to confront the American people with an obvious propagandist truth - THAT THE GOVERNMENT CANNOT BE TRUSTED WITH THE PEOPLE'S MONEY.

The Federal Reserve banking system is not a government system.

It is a private banking system given the incredible power to create ALL of the nation's money AS DEBT. Every new dollar comes into existence as debt payable to the private banking cartel.

Public and consumer DEBT LIABILITIES, the amount we have to pay back on those debts, is about $50 TRILLION DOLLARS.

If Mr. Buffet or Mr. Peterson or Mr. Greenspan can explain to anyone HOW to repay that debt with ALL the new DEBT money that comes into existence, then let them say how.

Monetary Reform Now.

http://www.monetary.org/amacolorpamphlet.pdf

Mr. Goldstein ??

[Rule Of Law]

Disband the FED. Have the Government forgive it's own debt, that is all a make believe debt by any reasonable thinking, anyway. And lets restore sanity to our economy.

[swift goat pet for truth]

Now to politicize it.

McCain says he will tackle the Fed Deficit by addessing earmarks.
Total earmarks for 2008 was about $16 bil.

The THIRD largest item on our Fed Budget is INTEREST ONLY on the Nat. Debt, some $440 Bil.
The BUSH portion of this INTEREST ONLY is about $140 bil.

So the ENTIRE earmark money is only about 12% of the BUSH only part of the INTEREST only part of the Nat Debt.

I REALLY hope McCain is not elected.

[joebhed]

I.O.U.S.A.

Think about it. The national debt.
Think about people thinking about the national debt.

Think about people thinking about paying interest on the national debt.

Think about the government of those people borrowing the newly-created money it needs to run the country.from a private banking cartel that has the power to create that money out of thin air.

Think about the fact that this power to create new money out of thin air, and to lend that money to the government payable at interest , has been created and given to the private bankers by the government.
Of the people.
Paying the interest.

Think about that.

The government had the power.
And they gave it to the private bankers.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I think it's time the government took that power back.
Let the banks lend out their own money.

Let the government create the new money that is needed, in the same quantities and for the same purposes, that would otherwise be created by the private bankers.

Monetary Reform Now.

[mamacat]

We have had a number of economic "bubbles".

There was the first reported bubble, the Dutch tulip bubble of hundreds of years ago.

There was the stock market bubble of the 1920s. We know how that turned out - The Great Depression, the rise of Fascism, and World War II.

There was the dot.com bubble of the 1990s. We were told that it would never collapse, because we were in a new era, where the old rules did not apply. Yeah, right.

We have seen the recent real estate bubble, fueled by subprime loans and the Right's insistence on removing oversight from the marketplace. We still haven't hit bottom from the collapse of that bubble, but the Right is still insisting that removing regulation from the marketplace had nothing to do with it.

We have not paid sufficient attention to one of the biggest bubbles in all of human history, the debt bubble of the United States.

If and when the debt bubble bursts, it may be as bad as what we saw in 1929, or even worse. It may result in the transformation of the United States from the world's sole superpower, to an impoverished and undereducated nation that is scorned by the rest of the world. Of course, there will always be the richest 2%, with their 7 mansions each, pretending to know and care what is best for "us," but they have no more idea of how to right our problems than the man in the moon.

[SeriousBlack]

I agree with most of what you said, except for the last sentence. In reality, the richest 2% DO know how to right our problems (if they really wanted to). They just don't care. They don't care because they are the richest 2% and will REMAIN rich no matter WHAT happens. Even if the other 98% of us descend into a Mad Max, BladeRunner post-apocalyptic nightmare, who cares? They live behind their gated mansions now; they'll just have to add a regiment of Halliburton thugs manning the walls with machine guns. The fly in their private helicopters and jets now; they'll fly around to their exclusive 2% enclaves then (remember Cindy McCain's comment about flying being the only way to get around Arizona?). They vacation in Monte Carlo now; they'll vacation in Monte Carlo then.

Whether or not there is a vibrant, healthy middle class in America, OR if the rest of us are dying in the streets begging for food.

THEY.

COULDN'T.

CARE.

LESS.

[robinhood2]

Don't forget that a (French) Rothschild was gassed at Auschwitz. His death is discussed in William Manchester's book "The Arms of Krupp". Sometimes some of the 2% end up as miserable as the rest of the population. The 2% of families that controlled much of the US economy in the 1920's are not the same families that control things today. In are names such as Buffet, Gates, Schwartzman, Geffen. Out are Ford, Mellon, Dupont, Rockefeller. David Rockefeller, now around age 93, represents is the last billionaire from the old guard. The reality is that the heirs of the super capitalists tend to be better at spending the family fortune than adding to it.

[DuganS1]

The late 20s stock market run didn't cause the Great Depression by the way.

[Rule Of Law]

No, Goldman Sachs and the FED did.

[CarlyCorday]

Thank you very much! I have recommended it to one of my grown children, the youngest, a soldier. The younger you are, the more you need to know this. And our military members REALLY need to know what it is, exactly, that they are "serving," and who is being irresponsible at home, while they occupy the trenches in faith and trust.

I'll keep a watch on IFC and Sundance till it shows up on my toob.