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To me, this movie is perfection.

Simply A Masterpiece

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I.O.U.S.A. is a documentary that focuses on the shape and impact of the federal debt which amounts to $9.6 Trillion during the year of its release(It is now approaching to $18 Trillion as this review is being written).Patrick Creadon directs.The film details the history of the federal debt from the time it got its independence in 1776 and the actions the country did throughout history;it explores how the United States got to be in this present economic turmoil; and what actions the country needs to undertake in order to escape an all-out financial disaster that no American can escape in the future.Added to that,it also provides an explanation about the big portion of the budget deficit that the county accumulated due to unfunded benefits - Medicare,Medicaid and Social Security - which could only be provided by increasing the taxes three times and removing the other expenditures of the government.Aside from that,it also examines the culture of credit that have become part of the lifestyle of the Americans; and the trade deficit that the country has had - more imports as compared to exports - to other countries particularly that of China.Finally,it also gives the viewer a portrait of lack of leadership in Washington especially when it comes to cutting government expenditures and spending.Although this documentary needs and update considering the debt is presently humongous due to additional government spending like more entitlement and welfare programs as well as the implementation of the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare,it gives us an idea on where the United States is headed to economically.Aside from that,it also will no longer provide Americans any lingering doubts that the U.S. economy is headed into a collapse in the near future.Finally,it also provides the viewer reasons to change habits like the culture of credit and spending patterns in order to survive the worse economic meltdown that is yet to come into the country. This solid doc is definitely a must-see for Americans.

This film does a very good job at scaring people. Some of the figures and projections are bone-chilling. However, it largely overstates the problem. We've handled deficits before. We ran an enormous deficit during the WW-II era (over 100% of GDP), so the current deficit (around 3% of GDP) is not a "fiscal cancer" as the IOUSA team would have you believe.More importantly though, the film missed an opportunity to offer a real solution to the deficit problem -- health care. If our country's health care system were as efficient as the systems in other industrialized countries, and if programs like Medicare/Medicaid could take advantage of these lower costs, our deficit problem would virtually disappear. The Center for Economic and Policy Research has a nice graphic that demonstrates this well: http://www.cepr.net/calculators/iousadeficit/calc_iousa_deficit.html

This documentary is simply outstanding. It has a fast moving pace, covering a tremendous amount of material, without losing a layman's audience. It is educational as well as entertaining. Of course, with the upcoming elections, the timing for the movie couldn't be better. It helps educate voters on one of the most important topics for the upcoming election. At the same time, it is not a partisan movie, and does not lay blame on one party over another. It seems fair in its portrayal of this problem and does not have an ulterior political motive. Finally, it is a great date movie because you will have plenty to discuss afterward.

This may finally wake up the average American to what is about to happen to our economy and way of life in very short order. Most smart economists, politicians and business people have known for years that the feathers are soon to hit the fan. Ran Paul, Peter Schiff and others have been warning us for some time but very few have listened. Things have actually become considerably worse since this movie was made. The new housing bill will be the stick that breaks the camels back. Better batten down the hatches folks, the perfect storm is about to hit. Even if you are not one who normally pays much attention to economic data please see this movie and at least try to understand the scope of the disaster that is about to befall us in the next 1-2 years. This is not reality TV its just REALITY.