NYT Movie Review: I.O.U.S.A. (2008)

[DogPoundPup]

Yet another documentary that everyone should see but most will not, “I.O.U.S.A.” tackles the unsexy topic of our soaring national debt and its likely consequences for present and future Americans — or at least those who survive the tsunamis, water shortages and Beijing-level air quality promised by Al Gore.

Brimful of disquieting facts on inflation, trade deficits and Wall Street’s influence on national monetary policy, Patrick Creadon’s resolutely nonpartisan movie tracks America’s “fiscal cancer” through centuries of budgetary highs and lows. Packaging his inconvenient truths with as much humor as he can muster under the circumstances, Mr. Creadon balances his talking heads and pie charts with the folksy progress of the Fiscal Wake-Up Tour, a grass-roots effort spearheaded by David M. Walker, the former comptroller general of the United States, and Robert L. Bixby of the Concord Coalition.

Equal parts enlightening and alarming, “I.O.U.S.A.” highlights our unwise preference for short-term reward over long-term planning, a weakness not shared by the film’s exemplary Chinese household, which saves more than half of its $10-a-day income. The movie’s wrist-slapping tone, however, is softened by Mr. Walker’s eloquence and Mr. Bixby’s rueful, self-deprecating charm as they trudge tirelessly from one town hall to another, urging Americans to save rather than spend. Good luck, boys: Suze Orman has been working on that for years.
http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/movies/22ious.html