i.o.u.s.a. |  | Director: Patrick Creadon
Actors: David Walker (Peter G. Peterson Foundation), Bob Bixby (Concord Coalition)
Studio: PBS (DIRECT)
List Price: $24.99
Buy New: $12.78
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Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 4063
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 80 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 601
UPC: 841887010481
EAN: 0841887010481
ASIN: B001P9G3HE
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: April 7, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Studio: Public Media Distribution Release Date: 04/07/2009 Run time: 80 minutes
Amazon.com
As the average American can attest, personal debt is bad enough, but as Thomas Jefferson once cautioned, public debt is "corruptive of the government" and "demoralizing of the nation." Patrick Creadon's I.O.U.S.A. documents the efforts of two concerned citizens, former US Comptroller General Dave Walker and Concord Coalition Director Robert Bixby, to explain how America racked up over $9.5 trillion in debt and what we can do to stem the tide. Based on the book Empire of Debt by William Bonner and Executive Producer Addison Wiggin, Wordplay's Creadon combines Walker and Bixby's "Fiscal Wake-Up Tour" with observations from former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, former Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Paul O'Neill, superstar CEO Warren Buffett, and student activists. The information flows with ease and the clips from Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show add levity to an undeniably dark and timely topic, but the narrative rests on a long list of facts and figures, leading to a production that feels more like a special news report than a work of cinema. Unlike Alex Gibney's Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, on which co-writer/producer Christine O'Malley (Creadon's wife) assisted, character development takes a backseat to data. Arguably, the director lacks an outsized personality, like Enron's Kenneth Lay, around which to assemble his argument, but the subject calls for more of a human face to have the desired effect, i.e. to encourage beleaguered taxpayers to care enough to rise up off their easychairs and agitate for greater fiscal responsibility. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 29
 Easy to understand - A "must see" for all Americans October 26, 2009
Gary Alt (Pleasanton, CA USA)
I.O.U.S.A takes a very complex and boring topic - the fiscal health of our country - and explains it in simple, even entertaining terms. You don't need an economics background to understand the message. Most of the concepts are graphically illustrated. For instance, the historical review of the federal budget deficit is depicted by a penny rolling along the timeline graph from the founding of our country. They shy away from financial lingo to make it easy to understand. For instance, he refers to "unfunded promises" rather than "unfunded liabilities" when discussing Social Security and Medicare.
The interviews of people on the street are eye-opening. These are the people who will vote for or against needed reforms to solve our problems, and in some cases they don't even know what a budget deficit is.
The Saturday Night Live commercial skit, featuring Steve Martin, is hilarious.
[...]
I highly recommend this movie for all Americans so we can look past partisan bickering and get an unbiased view of what we are facing. In doing so we can hold our elected officials accountable for the necessary leadership to solve these looming problems.
 Can the information in this film be trusted? October 15, 2009
Allan L. Hoeltje (California)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
How can we trust a documentary from Peter G. Peterson?
Council on Foreign Relations
Senior Chairman and Co-Founder, The Blackstone Group
Former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Former chairman and chief executive officer of Lehman Brothers
Co-leaseholder with Larry Silverstein of the World Trade Center when they were demolished on 9/11
This guy is one of the corporatist insiders responsible for the mess we are in.
 Understanding government spending October 6, 2009
R. Griffin (Saint Cloud, FL)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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.
I.O.U.S.A.--A Must See! September 11, 2009
Richard Halverson (Sioux Falls, SD)
Our country faces an economic crisis of huge proportions--our ever-mounting and escalating National Debt! The Main Stream Media is paying scant attention to this issue, and our current politicians in Washington, D.C., seem impervious to the consequences of their profligate spending: they are adding trillions of dollars to our debt structure this year! David Walker is an "insider" who puts the message squarely and smartly in front of the viewers of his video--this is a must own, must see video for every American citizen! For those who can and will do something to change the course our country is on, it is MANDATORY viewing!
Everyone Should See This Movie September 11, 2009
Scott Asher
I.O.U.S.A. documents the national debt in a way that is easy to understand for those of us who are not economists and gives the viewer a clearer understanding of why we should or should not take actions that are currently facing our nation. I was so impressed by the movie that I am convinced that there isn't anyone in America that wouldn't benefit from seeing it. The highest possible recommendation!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 29
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