11
November
I.O.U.S.A.: Byte-Sized - The 30 Minute Version
I.O.U.S.A. is a documentary film released earlier this year, and nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. The film focuses on the shape and impact of the United States national debt and features Robert Bixby, director of the Concord Coalition, and David Walker, the current U.S. Comptroller-General, as they travel around the United States on their Fiscal Wake-up Tour to let communities know of the potential dangers of the US national debt.
The movie includes interviews with heavweights such as former Fed chairman Paul Volker (who is tipped to be Obama's treasury secretary), former Treasury Department secretary Paul O'Neill, billionaire Warren Buffett, congressman Ron Paul and others on both sides of the fence who all agree: Don't buy what you can't pay for. This goes some way to enlivening a topic that even Bixby himself admits is a decidedly unsexy topic, the "cold shower of political issues," as he puts it.
Currently touring selected theaters in the States, there is no word yet on whether it will get a limited release worldwide. If it isn't showing in your local arthouse cinema then it will probably be available to watch on the internets in due course. I'll keep you posted.
3 Comments Add Comment
Two comments. Firstly, This
Two comments. Firstly, This movie does not fully illustrate how deeply involved the private speculators who own, thats right own, the federal reserve are responsible for todays state of affairs, and secondly the comment by Matt Sherman above, with the benefit of hindsight, is utterly ridiculous as well as absolutely irrelevant in the present circumstance. Why are people out there so afraid to say out loud what they know in theirs hearts and minds. The time for denial is over; When you bury your head in the sand your ass gets kicked.
This movie is really good at
This movie is really good at scaring you. Some of the projections are absolutely bone-chilling. But it largely overstates the problem — the deficit is currently at a manageable level of 3% of GDP. And we need to run a deficit in this economic downturn to ensure we don’t have skyrocketing rates of unemployment. The flim also ignores one of the best solutions to the “problem” — health care reform. If our health care system were as efficient as other industrialized nations, and if Medicare/Medicaid were able to take advantage of these lower costs, then our deficit problem would basically disappear. Check out the Center for Economic and Policy Research, they have a nice graphic that demonstrates this well: http://www.cepr.net/calculators/iousadeficit/calc_iousa_deficit.html
IOUSA is being release in the
IOUSA is being release in the UK this week....
LIVERPOOL - Picturehouse at FACT - Saturday 15th 3.00pm
NEWCASTLE - Tyneside Cinema - Saturday 15th 3.55pm
BRIXTON - Ritzy - Sunday 16th 2.00pm
EXETER - Picturehouse - Sunday 16th 2.00pm
CLAPHAM - Picturehouse - Monday 17th 6.30pm
EDINBURGH – Cameo - Monday 17th 7.00pm
NORWICH - Cinema City - Monday 17th 8.30pm
BATH - The Little Theatre Cinema - Monday 17th 6.15pm
ABERDEEN - Belmont Picturehouse - Monday 17th 6.30pm
GREENWICH - Picturehouse - Monday 17th 6.30pm
SOUTHAMPTON - Harbour Lights Picturehouse - Monday 17th 6.45pm
YORK - City Screen Picturehouse - Tuesday 18th 6.30pm
HENLEY - Regal Picturehouse - Wednesday 19th 8.30pm
OXFORD - Phoenix Picturehouse - Wednesday 19th 6.30pm
LEEDS - Hyde Park Picture House - Thursday 20th 6.45pm
IOUSA UK dates on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=34060233339&ref=mf