iousa DVD with David Walker (Peter G. Peterson Foundation), Bob Bixby (Concord Coalition) (PG) +Movie Reviews

Manditory for every citizen

RLeone | Pleasantville, NY | 11/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is unfortunate that only 10 people were in the theater besides my wife and I to watch this documentary film. The past head of the GAO for the last 3 presidents is the 'star' of this film and he presents the case about the national debt in a logical and yet terrifying manner. This is a must see for every high school student in America. Unfortunately, this will never happen. The film does present a method to save the country, but it will come at a cost that probably few in this land of ours will want to pay. But,if we don't, there is no doubt that a payment of some kind will occur, but it will be disastrous. Once you see this, you will begn to change your personal financial decisions with a wary eye on the future. Don't see this at your peril."

Must See

James M. Bennett | Summit, NJ | 10/27/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This film is a must-see for every American. It highlights the unfunded national liability, in addition to the national debt, that nobody is talking about. We need to take action now or have the debt take the world and our grandchildren down with it.

~Jim Bennett"

An outstanding and informative film

Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 04/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I.O.U.S.A. educates people about the very real and very dangerous financial problems our government is facing. The producers of the film pull no punches here and they don't sugar-coat it; and that was the right thing to do. The way Americans live today is essentially "living for the moment" without thinking of the importance of saving money for a rainy day; and the film goes into great, great detail highlighting that the American government does the same. I will tell you just some of the points made by this movie; although it will seem as if I've given it all away I assure you that I haven't.

The film starts with cameramen asking people just how much they know about the federal deficit, the federal debt, the difference between the two and more. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people simply didn't know the answers to these questions. This is no laughing matter. These topics are highly relevant in these harsh economic times when America is at a true crossroads; the nonpartisan film shows that we and our government have to choose between spending and saving wisely or being reckless with our money as we have been.

In addition, the interview footage we get here is extraordinary. Peter Peterson contends that out biggest threat is our own financial turmoil, not terrorism (I would rank the two about equal, though). I also appreciated the footage with former Comptroller General Of The United States, David Walker. David Walker speaks in plain English about the dangers of America's national debt, the ballooning national trade deficit and the increasing budget deficit. David Walker and his colleagues including Robert Bixby, head of The Concord Coalition, go on "fiscal wakeup tours" that never make the news although they should have been reported. The statistics we also get along the way are presented neatly with graphs and charts that are easy to understand; the points being made are rather gloomy but all too true. These issues demand immediate attention.

The movie also contends that American financial problems have four primary sources: a budget deficit issue, a savings deficit issue, a trade deficit issue and a leadership issue. The film also deals with entitlement programs including Medicare. Just how all these come into play I will not go into here so that you can have plenty of new material to uncover when you watch this movie. There's quite a bit more interview footage in this movie.

The DVD also boasts some wonderful extra features including more talking with everyday people like me; and I especially liked the features entitled "Panel At The Premiere" and "More From Leading Economic Experts."

Overall, I.O.U.S.A. fascinates me and the issues are so critical that this film should be mandatory viewing for all Americans. The film was produced largely before the current economic crisis began but we still see some commentators predicting the house of cards could well fall. I highly recommend this film.

"

IOUSA

Michael R. Yost | Texas | 10/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Scary! This is an unsavory subject every American needs to know about. It is an eye-opening lesson about our national debt."

Tremendously important film

The Actor | Chicago | 05/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This film is tremendously important and talks about a subject every American needs to know about: the looming debt crisis. Yes, everyone knows about the subprime loan crisis, but fewer know about (or are willing to acknowledge) the biggest subprime borrower of all: the U.S. government. Most people have a vague sense that something is wrong with the size of the national debt and the Federal deficits, but this movie really shows the full extent of the the problem.

This movie's primary message is that, unless something changes really quickly, there is another subprime crisis just waiting to happen: the national debt and the governments' unfunded liabilities (especially Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) are ticking time bombs. In other words, if you're not worried yet, you should be; the movie effectively demonstrates that, unless these problems are acted on quickly, the next generation will almost certainly have a lower standard of living than the current generation.

This film is an extremely well-done, high-quality documentary that addresses a crucial issue. It also does an extremely good job of being non-partisan; the film deliberately avoids taking a position on issues like big government vs. small government, the welfare state, tax cuts, etc. It merely argues that we need to pay for the government we actually have; most people are trying to have their cake and eat it too in the sense that they want ever-increasing government benefits and ever-decreasing taxes. (Consider that Bush pushed through a large tax cut and then dramatically increased government spending).

I have been studying this issue for some time now and still learned a lot from this film; for example, one particularly interesting chart used in the film illustrated how most of the typical "solutions" to the problems that politicians propose (such as earmark reform, eliminating pork-barrel spending, ending the war in Iraq, etc.) are only a drop in the bucket in terms of the overall debt crisis the government is facing. The film deliberately avoids entering into the debate over the policies themselves (you won't find any discussion of whether or not we ought to end the war in Iraq, for example) but rather limits itself to discussing the implication of these policies for the budget.

I can't recommend this documentary enough. As a citizen, taxpayer, or voter (or future citizen, taxpayer, or voter) you owe it to yourself to see this film."

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