I.O.U.S.A: One Night Only

According to a recent article in the World Herald, the US government owes about $53 trillion, about four times the size of the annual American economy. If you are not alarmed by this seemingly unfathomable figure, think again.

That’s about 500,000 times the amount of Bill Gates’ home, which costs $113 million. Being the richest man in the world, his company Microsoft, is the only in the entire world whose stock exchange value has exceeded the half trillion-dollar limit. For Microsoft to reach the $53 trillion mark, its value should multiply over a hundredfold.

The $53 trillion dollar-national debt also makes the average American owe about $175,000. There are a couple of good-sized homes available for someone willing to spend anywhere from $100,000 to $150,000. Some people earn about $150,000 a year, even less than enough to pay off his share of the national debt.

Alarming is an understatement of the situation. And it’s definitely time to do something about this nationwide crisis.

On August 21, 2008, opening for one night only in theatres across America is I.O.U.S.A., a documentary that discusses the financial state of the US and the growing national debt. The film which competed in the 2008 Sundance Film Festival focuses on Robert Bixby, director of the Concord Coalition, and David Walker, the US Comptroller-General, as they tour the country to inform communities of the impending threats caused by the ever-increasing national debt.

The special theatrical release is for one night only, on the 21st of August, broadcast to theaters nationwide. In Omaha, following its screening at the Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha, there will be a live discussion among Warren Buffett, Pete Peterson, and David Walker. A complete list is available here.

When I saw Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth a few years ago, I realized one thing: we have only one planet to live in and we must do our share in maintaining it and keeping it in working order. Because of I.O.U.S.A., I realized that our country, strong and brave and proud is on the verge of international collapse if our foreign debt is not settled.