I.O.U.S.A.: Right on Time

Co-authored by Addison Wiggin

A film that tackles the nation's debt and asks us to face up to our fiscal problems--what could be timelier? That is the premise of I.O.U.S.A., the acclaimed documentary released earlier this year which addresses America's addiction to debt and the consequences for its economy and its citizens. Lauded as pointedly topical and nonpartisan by major film critics across the country, the film was recently characterized by a Huffington Post blogger as badly timed propaganda, an attempt to scare Americans and push Congress to reject a stimulus package for the immediate economic crisis.

The purpose of the film, which like many documentaries was years in the making, was never to scare Americans--as if they need a movie to make them more scared than they already are! In the midst of an official recession, we are all understandably anxious about the economic uncertainty we face both domestically and abroad.

I.O.U.S.A. was created to educate Americans not just about the current state of our growing debts but more importantly, about how we arrived here. We suffer from four dangerous deficits: budget, savings, trade, and most critically, a leadership deficit.

The challenges posed by these deficits exist regardless of the state of the markets. Indeed, not long ago when times appeared to be good, our leaders could have taken some steps toward closing these deficits, but did not. Health care costs have been allowed to rise unchecked by any Congress or administration. Decisions like these only make the choices faced by today's and tomorrow's leaders tougher.

I.O.U.S.A.'s objective is driven by the most basic premise that we must learn from our mistakes in order to move forward. And the desire to learn is very real, based on the hundreds of educators, students, and good-government groups around the country who have requested to hold private showings of the film--and on the Academy members who have put the film on the short list for an Oscar nomination.

Just as we must understand the past, we must face the reality of our current, critical situation. First and foremost, we must get our economy back on track. But we can take steps to ensure that the coming stimulus is temporary and targeted to long-term, sound investments in our economy--investments in our future, such as building much-needed infrastructure and creating green jobs for Americans.

Even as we stimulate the economy, we must exercise fiscal discipline and restraint if we are to set our country on a different path. President-elect Obama and his incoming administration have continued to advocate this philosophy as they unveil their plan of action for our ailing economy.

Many have been quick to push the debate as a choice between stimulus and deficit reduction, but solutions committed to both objectives are critical to our short- and long-term survival. Immediate stimulus efforts can be coupled with a long-term fiscal framework that works toward budget deficit reduction. Programs can be put on more sustainable paths without cutting or eliminating them. The incoming Obama Administration can combine targeted stimulus to jumpstart the economy with some key steps toward real, lasting economic reform.

We are a thoughtful and innovative nation that is capable of taking on both challenges--and taking control of our future. And as the makers of I.O.U.S.A., we are gratified to see that the film is inspiring this much-needed conversation.

Patrick Creadon is director and producer of the documentary I.O.U.S.A. Addison Wiggin is executive producer of I.O.U.S.A. and co-author of the companion book.

In Response to:

Dean Baker: The Banking Industry Wants To Help You!

Comments

[OtayPanky]

Addison Wiggins is one of the chief cooks and bottlewashers at a bunko direct marketing firm called AGORA, run by a supposedly libertarian American expat living in Paris named William Bonner. They do a huge business fleecing suckers by writing outrageously good copy to sell uniformly crappy newsletters and advisory services that will supposedly make you rich, quack health care ideas, etc. The truth about their misleading ads, and abouttheir products and services has been documented by a number of people including STOCK GUMSHOE.

They make a few good points in their diagnoses, but nothing we don't already understand about over-leveraging, debt financing, etc. But their ideas about solutions - and Bonner's preaching - are individualistic in the extreme.

NEXT!

[joebhed]

I criticized Dean baker for his penchant to have massive 'deficits' over the next few years.
I also criticize all those connected with IOUSA. Forget the periods.

The film correctly lays out the tragic growth in debt in this country, but it completely ignores the natural cause of all that debt. And, it ain't that we're not saving. If we were saving, we would be saving debt.

The basic problem with the movie and the debt-money system in this country IS the debt-money system in this country. ALL MONEY IS CREATED AS DEBT.

THAT is the problem.
THAT is the cause for the fact that we cannot have a sound fiscal-tax-monetary policy in this country without ever-increasing quantities of debt.
The movie ignores the cause of debt-money, and leaves the viewer to infer the factor of too much borrow-and-spending BY THE GOVERNMENT.
WHY should the government borrow its own money?

We have a debt-money system operating under fractional-reserve lending policies where ALL money that comes into existence comes into existence as a DEBT repayable to someone, usually bankers who create it out of thin air, WITH INTEREST, which is NEVER created.

We ALWAYS owe the bankers MORE MONEY than is in existence.
Get off your high horse of quantitave observations and go dust off the Chicago Plan of money and banking presented to FDR and get on with the solution to this proble,
Google Treasury System versus Federal Reserve System.