I.O.U.S.A.

Comptroller of the United States GAO gives us the facts and describes some history of why the financial crisis of the government budget deficit and national debt are the top threats facing the United States today. Our nation has lost its way and we somehow think it is sustainable for us to spend more as a nation than we earn. The facts and numbers are shocking. Where we will be in 25 years is even more alarming. But it is not too late. As recently as the end of the 1990s the nation was operating under a balanced budget. We can do that again and begin paying down our debts. Excellent presentation of these facts. Not a hopeless cause. But we do need to make some adjustments as a nation. This movie is a must see for everyone of any political persuasion. Very educational.

This movie is not for policy wonks, economists, or accountants. It's for citizens of the United States - Highly Patriotic citizens who want to preserve their country.

It spells out in superb graphics what we're up against financially. The film has a great pace, lots of color, and combines all sorts of mediums to make an excellent presentation of the information.

The message is dark, but brutally honest. And there is yet hope, so I encourage you to see the movie to find out what it is.

I am absolutely convinced if the electorate saw and understood these issues, we would be willing to make the hard choices quite gladly, and reward politicians who were clear, transparent and honest, and send packing those who's egos and greed keep them in Washington.

What ever happened to civil service as a moral ideal?

There is probably no solution to our problem. This documentary is not so much a call to arms, but a history of how we got into the fiscal situation we are in, and how the future we face is going to look.

We have spent and tax cut our way into a fiscal crisis that will never be resolved. It's not as if we can't do it. We did it during the Clinton years, but we immediately lost the nerve. It is not a liberal or conservative problem, it is a problem of will.

Four years from now, all we would be able to pay for is interest on the federal debt and some Medicaid and Medicare. We have no money for anything else.

The state of our union is not strong.

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.

The movie itself, while not as sexy or explosive as some documentary topics, was well done, in my view. I appreciated the Econ 101 premise, with engaging charts, easy to understand fables, and relevant interview bites. This topic is bigger and more important than an 85 minute documentary and I felt they captured the urgency of this dire situation. Unless action is taken now we might not be able to dig out selves out in a few years.

Can't wait until the DVD comes out in October when I can make my friends watch, 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.

This may finally wake up the average American to what is about to happen to our economy and way of life in very short order. Most smart economists, politicians and business people have known for years that the feathers are soon to hit the fan. Ran Paul, Peter Schiff and others have been warning us for some time but very few have listened. Things have actually become considerably worse since this movie was made. The new housing bill will be the stick that breaks the camels back. Better batten down the hatches folks, the perfect storm is about to hit. Even if you are not one who normally pays much attention to economic data please see this movie and at least try to understand the scope of the disaster that is about to befall us in the next 1-2 years. This is not reality TV its just REALITY.