Milk Your Money

Got Money? Milk the most from it…

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Archives
  • Our Network
  • Links
  • Forums

Subscribe via Email

Pic.TV’s Preview of An Inconvenient Debt

Posted by Ben
August 11, 2008

Stumble it Digg it Add to Mixx! RSS del.icio.us Add to Technorati Favorites Leave a comment

While our attention is currently abroad in Beijing, watching our fellow citizens win medals left and right (take that France!) we are also keeping an eye on that state of affairs here at home.  There is another race coming up soon but won’t commence until long after the Olympics are over: the Presidential Race.  This will be our version of China versus South Korea in table tennis (no really, its supposed to be a big deal: China was supposed to win but because of this….not so much.  Its a revenge match!) and there is a movie coming out that is going to bring to light an issue that the candidates can’t ignore.  Current.pic.tv has done a preview of the new movie “I.O.U.S.A.” and we would like to share it with you…

________________________________________________

An Inconvenient Debt

August 11, 2008 by Colin Lovett @ Current.pic.tv

New movie tries to raise awareness of what we owe
by Colin Lovett - PIC Current Producer

There are no chase scenes.  There is no romance.  And the hero is balding. With glasses.  But a new movie opening this month may be the scariest of the summer.  And it’s all about the national debt.

Courtesy I.O.U.S.A the movie

I.O.U.S.A is basically a call for Americans to understand how bad our budget problems have gotten and how much worse things could be if we don’t fix the problem. Watch the trailer here.

The movie is being promoted by Pete Peterson Foundation, who is using $1 billion of his own money to raise awareness of the budget deficit.

The current debt is about $9.5 trillion.  But Mr. Peterson’s group says it could  shoot up to $53 trillion if you count future debts such as paying out social security and medicare to 78 million baby boomers. At this price, every American man, woman and child would be on the hook for $175,000.  I don’t know about you, but that check would bounce if I wrote it.

They argue that all is not lost, but we must begin making tough choices now on spending, saving and taxes.

The federal debt is pretty simple to understand but can be very difficult to solve in practice.  We as a country take on debt when Congress and the President spend more than they take in in taxes.

Much of this debt is currently paid for from social security payroll taxes.  We now take in more social security payments than we send out.  But in a few years, that will change and we will need to find ways to make payments to millions of baby boomers as they leave the workforce.

If that’s still confusing, take a look at the way School House Rock explains it:

A lot our debt also comes from borrowing from foreign countries.  One day, we will need to pay them back.

There is little that any individual can do about the national debt.  But we should all be concerned about it because the hard decisions that will have to be made will affect all of us.  Higher taxes, lower spending and higher interest rates are just some of the possibilities. If we make this a concern, maybe they’ll make a movie sequel: Debt Crushers.  I hope the next one has some explosions.

Alternet, an alternative news site, has this take on I.O.U.S.A..

“Facing Up” is a great non-partisan site devoted to the federal budget.  If you have debt problems in your personal life, our sister site The Beehive, has great resources to help you manage your budget.

________________________________________________

We can learn a great deal about this issue and apply it to our own fiscal policies, one element you can take away is to not spend more than you make.  The other is to think about the future.  What else can a movie like this tell us?

This movie is going to be an eye opener as it is approachable and will explain how such a massive spending deficit has occured.  My only hope is that its not too late and that this doesn’t set an example for our future.  Or else we aren’t going to be able to go to the Olympics next time.


Related articles you might be interested in:
Archives
The Importance of Talking About Your Finances with Friends and Family
What Would You Do With $1 Million Dollars?
Awesome Financial Calculators for Microsoft Excel
Five Common Money Mistakes to Avoid

Banking, Borrowing, Budgeting, debt, taxes



Stumble it Digg it Add to Mixx! RSS del.icio.us Add to Technorati Favorites Leave a comment

If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader or email.

Comments
Comment by ColinNo Gravatar on August 12, 2008 @ 12:23 am

Thanks guys for sharing our post with your readers. This is an issue that is not getting nearly enough attention right now. Anyone remember Perot and his crazy charts from 1992? We stopped paying attention to this mess after the late 90s. What we need as a public is another kick in the pants to start thinking about this and demanding real solutions.

Cheers,
Colin

Comment by BenNo Gravatar on August 12, 2008 @ 7:42 am

Colin, happy to oblige! I am excited to see this movie as well…on the one hand I wish it was longer but Frank made a good point saying that it might not be as accepted by the mainstream public if it was longer unfortunately. Have you seen the preview for “W.” yet? Looks interesting as well…

Leave a comment

(required)

(required)


Search

Archives

  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008

Categories

  • Annuities
  • ARS
  • auction rate securities
  • Bailout
  • Banking
  • Borrowing
  • Budgeting
  • Credit Cards
  • credit score
  • debt
  • DIY
  • Economy
  • entertainment
  • Fees
  • financial literacy
  • Frugal Things To Do In…
  • Gas
  • General
  • Getting Started
  • Income Replacement Funds
  • Insurance
  • Investing
  • Lunch
  • Mailbag
  • money
  • Rate Cuts
  • real estate
  • Rebates
  • reverse mortgage
  • Saving
  • Scams
  • Shopping
  • stimulus
  • taxes
  • Uncategorized
  • windfall

Featured in Alltop

PerformancingAds

  • Recent Posts

    • Auto Industry Lowers Prices During Hard Times
    • Thanksgiving Expenses
    • Black Friday Deals
    • No More Pricey Pedicures with PedEgg
    • As Gas Prices Fall, Take the Following Actions
  • Recent Comments

    • Can You Find a Used Car That Lasts 10 Years For $3K-$7K? on Auto Industry Lowers Prices During Hard Times
    • Follow Me on Twitter and the QuickHits | Prime Time Money on No More Pricey Pedicures with PedEgg
    • christmas songs silent night on Markets Tumble, Surpassing Records Set During the Depression
    • Seth on 27 Great Tips for Around the House
    • Frank on Thanksgiving Expenses
    • Susy on Thanksgiving Expenses
    • Laura K on Thanksgiving Expenses
  • Tools

    • Become a Millionaire with the Following Saving Tactics
    • Broker Check
    • Guide to House Hunting
    • Light Bulb Comparisons
    • Loan Repayment Calculator
    • Monthly Budget
    • Mutual Fund Expense Analyzer
    • Savings Calculator
  • Most Popular Posts

    • 27 Great Tips for Around the House
    • Why Didn’t I Receive My Economic Stimulus Check?
    • Become a Millionaire in 30 Years with your Current Salary
    • The 8 Worst Habits for Saving Money
    • Five Common Money Mistakes to Avoid
    • Frugal Things To Do In Washington, DC
    • Analysis of The 11 Principles by Money Crashers
  • Tags

    401(k) ARMs Banking bills Borrowing budget Budgeting cars common sense compound interest credit credit card debt Credit Cards credit score debt DIY expenses Fed Fees financial literacy frugal Gas General groceries income Insurance interest rates Investing IRA money mortgage real estate rebate recession retirement Saving savings scam Scams Shopping stimulus stocks student loans taxes windfall





Copyright 2008 | Milk Your Money | All rights reserved

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Archives
  • Forums
  • Our Network
  • Links


A World of Personal Finance Bloggers Personal  Blogs - Blog Catalog Blog Directory Add to Technorati Favorites Top Finance blogs Join My Community at MyBloglog!

PerformancingAds


Affiliate Rank & Review
Advertise Here