I.O.U.S.A. - Our Fiscal Crisis
While there is some debate on the effectiveness of Obama’s stimulus plan - what is certain is that it will greatly add to our national debt.
In a situation like ours, this is fine in the short run - Keynes famously advocated running a deficit to prop up spending and spur growth, and our failure to do so in the Great Depression meant that downturn lasted more than it needed to.
But a powerful question remains - what are we do to about our exploding national debt? I was traveling through Argentina right after they defaulted on a number of their national loans - it was eye opening to see an entire country was shackled by a debt they had no hope of repaying. We’ve put ourselves into the same situation.
I was invited to a screening this past weekend of a new documentary film on just this subject, I.O.U.S.A. The concept of earning what we spend has been lost on our government for quite a while, and it seems like we’re heading right off a cliff.
If you aren’t scared about the fiscal situation of our government, take thirty minutes and watch the web version of I.O.U.S.A. I can assure you that you’ll finish the movie quite frightened.
