IOUSA
I just finished watching I.O.U.S.A., a documentary describing the history and current status of the U.S. National Debt and fiscal policy. It is quite an eye-opening movie as it talks about the four greatest deficits we (as a nation and as individuals) face: Budget, Savings, Trade, and Leadership. Initially I was afraid this would be more right-wing propaganda lambasting “big government”, but I was pleasantly surprised at a pretty non-partisan approach. The movie does not seem to favor one political agenda over another (though it does seem to poke a little more at Reagan’s supply-side economics and the Bush Tax Cuts). Former U.S. Comptroller David Walker and Bob Bixby of the Concord Coalition play pretty big roles, and Alan Greenspan and Warren Buffett make appearances as well.
The main topic of the film is the National Debt (which is over 10 trillion dollars now) and how weour nation is saddling future generations with more debt than they can possibly hope to pay. It emphasizes the weight of the Social Security and Medicare programs and how they may continue to eat up larger and larger portions of GDP if we do not do something about it. It utilizes some pretty interesting charts and other graphics to show the history of the national debt, budget deficits, and savings rates throughout history. It also provides some education about how Monetary Policy attempts to create economic growth while trying to limit inflation. It also shows how government debt has changed over time. Whereas after World War II, 100% of the government debt was held by U.S. citizens, it is no longer the case; China, Japan, and other nations hold about 25% of our debt.
The movie is careful to point out that the creators do not favor one political or fiscal policy over another; the main purpose seems to be raising awareness of the crisis, presenting the facts, and motivating us to take action. While the film is nearly two years old, it is still worth watching. It is informative with facts and statistics as well as educational about how fiscal and monetary policies interact with inflation, savings, and economic growth. I wonder what they would say about the current situation with bail-outs and President Obama’s plans.
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