I.O.U.S.A.
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Movie Reviews of I.O.U.S.A.
Movie Review: A Call to Action
Summary: 4 Stars
I purposefully attempt to avoid partisan documentaries and this film makes a deliberate attempt not to take a partisan stand on the debt and deficit issue. While there are some hints to a partisan stance, the main message is certainly clear. We have to do something now to stop this train. Our spending at the current level is not sustainable. This film also puts facts into the light that much of the public is blissfully unaware of at the present. The reason for the near insolvency of Social Security is the use of the funds for other purposes, for years. There is some hop as we look back and see that after massive debt we were able to pay it off. The surplus under Clinton is also encouraging.
The Bush tax cuts must be repealed, raise the retirement age a year, raise income tax one percent across the board and corporate tax two percent. Finally already, offer a single payor tax supported health care system. Germany is the best model for a hybrid private/public health care mix that I know of presently. Defense spending cut by ten percent and a review of all federal programs looking for savings would also be appropriate. I know this is not enough but it is a start and that is what we need.
This was a stirring documentary and has inspired me to get more involved in communicating to Congress and voicing what we should all, as Americans, be worried about our future and the nation that we leave for our children and future generations of Americans.
Movie Review: Understanding government spending
Summary: 4 Stars
This DVD is for the average person. It explains in simple illustrated terms, the how and why's of the government deficit. Every American should have and replay this video.Movie Review: Informative review of American debt, major error of omission ignoring the role of economic growth
Summary: 3 Stars
Highly recommended because it informs the American public on our public debt in a manner that is easily understood from the perspective of what it is, though the movie fails to adequately tell the story relative to the role economic growth and stagnation plays in determining the seriousness of debt.
The movie describes Americans' relative ignorance regarding the components and summation of the total national debt. Many people think our debt is the annual U.S. federal budget deficit. Few realize our current booked debt is the net aggregation of unpaid past deficits and a mere handful can acknowledge that our debt also includes unfunded, future entitlement liabilities totaling over $56 trillion - $36 trillion of which was generated during President George W. Bush's tenure, much of which starts hitting when Baby Boomers in aggregate get into their 70s. The movie does nail describing the actual debt and how it's allocated, primarily in entitlements.
However it's not a perfect explanation, inadequate attention is focused on how health care costs played a role in the formation of this future unfunded debt along with available levers for getting control of future entitlement liabilities in future budgets. This could lead to a reaction of over-moroseness and futility by viewers not cognizant of past economic history. In addition, while the movie properly expounds on how supply-side economics and Bush's tax cuts created our current booked debt, the movie fails to mention future budgeted structural deficits and the ease tried and true past tax rates similar to Reagan/H.W. Bush/Clinton-era effective rates would help solve future structural deficits. In fact looking forward we're budgeting a $600 billion per year structural deficit directly and wholly attributed to Bush's fiscal policy results even if growth recovers (a big if), otherwise this debt will be booked at even greater rates. Higher, and smartly targeted, effective tax rates not only solved this issue in the past, but also led to even greater economic growth rates (end of Reagan's term and most of Clinton's). The results of past federal policies on spending have also provided clear examples of how to spend smartly or stupidly relative to economic growth/decline and the resultant tax revenues generated by growth or contraction of the total economy; this is a solvable problem. It does require a more elevated debate than modest tax increases equates to socialism from the Right or "let's spread the wealth" from the Left.
This documentary is descriptive, not prescriptive; expect to be informed, do not expect to see proposals on what to do with the exception of a few hastily thrown slides presented at the end of the movie. Hopefully the Peterson Foundation will produce a sequel that focuses on prescriptive proposals for how to get out of this mess though I'm not confident they'll nail that given their missing the role economic growth plays in increasing or decreasing debt, both nominally or as a percent of the total economy.
In fact this error of omission indicates two major flaws in the movie if the viewer excuses the lack of prescriptions, which I do. The first is the continuous mantra that our only way out of avoiding ever-increasing annual deficits is to either raise taxes or decrease spending. That is overly-simplistic mantra is fatally flawed in terms of looking at current and near-term federal deficits, and if taken literally as I assume most viewers would, is not only inherently wrong, but leaves out the most important lever we possess to get debt under control, i.e., growing our way out debt so it's a smaller portion of our budget. The directors are correct that our only avenue to get unfunded liabilities under control is to raise taxes and reform health care to reduce its burden on GDP (both of which are merely mentioned quickly); however they do not dwell on how this would occur in a way that also promotes economic growth given mere tax raises coupled to unwise spending like we saw during the Bush years could lead to economic stagnation that decreases federal revenues in spite of higher tax rates (this is exactly what is happening this year and why revenues are coming in less than predicted by Bush's 2009 budget).
A good example of why covering economic growth as a major topic as both a reason for our current situation and a major factor in any successful recovery is that most viewers who watch this movie, if this was all they knew about economics, would argue that the stimulus package was wrong in principle, and so is any federal economic reform policies that would increase future federal deficit spending, such as health care reform. While I'm an advocate of not only pay-go but economic reforms that are revenue-positive such as a carbon tax, one can deficit spend if such spending is stimulative enough that it grows the economy at a rate that makes this deficit spending a smaller percentage of the federal budget. This same group of people would also argue we can't afford to address energy policy in way that decreases greenhouse gasses. However such a misconception given this error of omission would cause such a viewer to miss a central point: If we keep taxes the same or do not reform our economic policies to promote growth, our total economy will either stagnate or decline, which will in turn depress tax revenues, which will cause past booked debt and future entitlement obligations that are unfunded to become an even greater burden relative to the size of the economy that must finance these liabilities.
One last half-hearted `atta boy' with a qualifier: The producers are correct that this problem can only be solved if we have a president with an Administration that has both the courage and the degree of functional excellence necessary to take it on. Far too many people think that the Executive Branch and Congress don't have the power to affect the economy when in fact they have incredible powers to wield for better or worse (as does the Federal Reserve Bank and its Chairman). However, this movie's producers fail miserably in assigning the American voter their responsibility to vote for Congress-people and Presidents based on what is in the national interest, rather than their pet peeves or prejudices. We get what we deserve, and we deserve our debt. Will `We the people' have what it takes to climb out of this hole? I'd argue the litmus test is in the health care bill currently being debated and its ability to decrease health care costs from 17% to what other countries pay for better results, which is around 6% - 11%. Given the current state, I'd argue `we the people' do not have the collective desire nor does Congress have the leadership necessary to enact true reform. I find it particularly relevant since Congress is actually succumbing to the pressure of ill-informed delusional protesters that appears to have them modifying any effectiveness the health care bill might have had in introducing true cost effectiveness, such as a public health insurance option.
Given their failure to explain how economic growth causes debt loads to be either significant or trivial, I'm forced to knock down the movie two stars though still recommending it because it does describe our debt picture.
Movie Review: Tough Choices?
Summary: 2 Stars
'Tough Choices' seems to be the basic mantra constantly resounding throughout this film, as well as the urging for the American people to 'bite the bullet' and 'learning to do without' and 'holding our representatives accountable', etc., etc. Gee, and to bring world-wide peace to the world, all we have to do is love one another.
Duh...
For me, the only truly informative result I got from this movie was the animated charts and such which helped sum up the basic gist of it all. I, too could have done without the "roadshow" subplot, as one critic aptly put it.
At times, the makers of this film seem to be trying too hard to appear 'objective'. I would have liked a bit more of a hard-hitting evaluation of the specific policies responsible for the economic debacle we find ourselves in today. I would also have liked a bit more depth put into conveying the whys and wherefores of these policies.
Above all, I would have liked a bit more of a specific idea of what needs to be done; should we totally get rid of social security, or drastically reduce its outlays when the baby boomers come to collect? Should we ask the baby-boomers to commit suicide before they reach 65 so as not to unload such a burden on those who will have to pay for their upkeep. Should we forget about overhauling the highways, mass trans, and other infrastructure applications?
And why is most of this belt-tightening to be borne by the average Joe Shmoe? What about the military? What about the space program? What about all those subsidies that the oil, auto and factory farm conglomerates rake in by all of us suckers?
The makers of this movie sound the economic alarm relentlessly. Yes, something needs to be done but their badgering, after a while, start to sound a bit too insensitive, too dismissive of the actual consequences that will surely come about when we, the people, have to do "what's necessary."
Movie Review: Too much of a Road Show
Summary: 2 Stars
I drove a long way to see this movie and I had very high expectations. I know several people who have seen David Walker speak on the subject and they said he was very effective. Nonetheless, I was disappointed in the film. While the subject matter is very compelling, watching David Walker driving around in a minivan to give speeches on the subject doesn't make for an interesting documentary. I would agree with the sentiment noted above in the product description that the production that feels more like a special news report than a work of cinema. But I'm not so sure the problem is that the film lacks an outsized personality around which to assemble the argument. The problem with this film is that is focuses too much on the road show and not enough on the story. A few quips from the former Treasury Secretaries Rubin and O'Neill, Warren Buffet, and Ron Paul help this film but it is not enough. This could have been a lot better. And the subject deserves better.