PIC Current

New movie tries to raise awareness of what we owe
by Colin Lovett – PIC Current Producer

There are no chase scenes.  There is no romance.  And the hero is balding. With glasses.  But a new movie opening this month may be the scariest of the summer.  And it’s all about the national debt.

Courtesy I.O.U.S.A the movie

I.O.U.S.A is basically a call for Americans to understand how bad our budget problems have gotten and how much worse things could be if we don’t fix the problem. Watch the trailer here.

The movie is being promoted by Pete Peterson Foundation, who is using $1 billion of his own money to raise awareness of the budget deficit. 

The current debt is about $9.5 trillion.  But Mr. Peterson’s group says it could  shoot up to $53 trillion if you count future debts such as paying out social security and medicare to 78 million baby boomers. At this price, ever American man, woman and child would be on the hook for $175,000.  I don’t know about you, but that check would bounce if I wrote it.

They argue that all is not lost, but we must begin making tough choices now on spending, saving and taxes.

The federal debt is pretty simple to understand but can be very difficult to solve in practice.  We as a country take on debt when Congress and the President spend more than they take in in taxes.  

Much of this debt is currently paid for from social security payroll taxes.  We now take in more social security payments than we send out.  But in a few years, that will change and we will need to find ways to make payments to millions of baby boomers as they leave the workforce.

If that’s still confusing, take a look at the way School House Rock explains it:

A lot our debt also comes from borrowing from foreign countries.  One day, we will need to pay them back. 

There is little that any individual can do about the national debt.  But we should all be concerned about it because the hard decisions that will have to be made will affect all of us.  Higher taxes, lower spending and higher interest rates are just some of the possibilities. If we make this a concern, maybe they’ll make a movie sequel: Debt Crushers.  I hope the next one has some explosions.

Alternet, an alternative news site, has this take on I.O.U.S.A.. 

“Facing Up” is a great non-partisan site devoted to the federal budget.  If you have debt problems in your personal life, our sister site The Beehive, has great resources to help you manage your budget. 

For more information about this story, please visit:

The Washington Post

The New York Times

USAToday

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