Did you know that you have an outstanding bill of $28,000 and its keeps going up every day? It's your share of the National Debt. Patrick Creadon's documentary tries to make an unsexy problem in the U.S. enticing. It may be an uphill battle, but he does a very commendable job. If the U.S. ever looses its leadership position on the world stage, it will be because of this issue. This isn't a Right or Left issue; it's an issue of America's survival.
Through the Bush administration years, the National Debt doubled. This was the first time this had happened in non-World War situation in the nation's history. How did this happen? It's simple. The federal government was spending more than it was making. Bill Clinton's administration had balanced the budget and people thought we were on the road to eliminating the debt. But what many didn’t realize was that we had borrowed so much from the coffers of Social Security that the program is near bankruptcy. In the Bush years, between the Iraq war, a costly new drug program and the rising imbalance in Social Security and Medicare, the problem is only getting worse. There will be a day when your taxes will only be going towards paying part of SS and Medicare and the interest on the National Debt.
One of the most sobering facts presented in the film was a key moment in British history. The U.K. wanted to go to war, but the U.S. did not. So the U.S. called in Britain's debt, forcing the U.K. to change their plans. It is considered the last nail in the coffin of the British Empire. China currently holds most of the U.S.'s debt, and they could call it in at any time. It's a political sword hanging over our heads, which China can use to control U.S. policy if they wish. Why do you think our government looks the other way at their human rights violations while condemning other countries for the same abuses? I think the term is "you don't bite the hand that feeds you."
And boy do Americans like to eat. This debt issue isn't just a problem of the U.S. government. Americans in general do not save compared to countries like China, where the savings rate nears 50% of their earnings. Americans like low taxes, but want to eat their cake in front of a big screen TV too.
Creadon argues that there's no one minding the store anymore, since Republicans under the Bush administration went away from their fiscal conservative roots. Both parties are the party of cut taxes and spend. And whose money have we been spending? Future generations who will be worse off then their parents. Politicians have become too interested in giving people what they want, so they'll get re-elected, even though it's leading us to ruin. They have the facts right in their faces because it's their jobs and they aren't telling the public. It's like a government not closing down a bridge with a bomb on it, because they know people will be irritated by the inconvenience. The failure of leadership on this issue is astounding.
David M. Walker, former U.S. comptroller general, and Robert Bixby, head of the nonpartisan Concord Coalition, are economists featured in the film and have been touring the country as part of the "Fiscal Wake-Up" tour in an effort to make the public more aware of the problem. Walker left the Bush administration to help form the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. (which funded this film) to create political heat on this crucial issue. But it's a very tough fight when coverage of the tour can't even beat out a piece on a man swallowing a diamond on the local news.
I.O.U.S.A. takes a very complex issue of grave importance that is frankly boring and makes it easy to understand and captivating. You will finish watching and understand the National Debt, foreign trade deficit, GAO and prime interest rates. This issue doesn't have movie stars like Al Gore behind it, but it doesn't make it any less important.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
