Financial Planning Blog

I finally watched IOUSA the other night, courtesy of Netflix instant play. This is the 2008 (pre-global financial crisis, pre-massive government response) documentary covering the Fiscal Wake Up Tour. I had read plenty about the tour, and have been impressed with the straight forward manner of David Walker, former head of the Government Accountability Office and Comptroller General of the United States, who was the chief spokesman. Walker is now CEO of the Peter G. Petersen Foundation which seeks to educate the nation and our leaders on the necessity of getting our fiscal house in order.

The tour and the documentary focus on the dangers of four deficits facing the United States:

• A budget deficit--which is even worse than it looks on the surface due to unfunded obligations.
• A savings deficit--which has gotten much worse over the last several years (although the trajectory may have improved some over the last year or so).
• A value-of-the-dollar deficit--which includes the foreign trade deficit.
• A leadership deficit--which Walker is focuses on as most critical, since leadership is necessary to turn things around.

The film is pretty engaging and while it is sounding the alarm, it is not without hope. It does kind of take you back to the days of Ross Perot, but with better graphics and much higher numbers (most of them negative). Although it may not sound like a fun evening, consider watching it, if only to start getting used to the fact that our collective behavior as a nation has to change. If not, there will likely be severe consequences for us and our children. Like the individual or family who finally wakes up to the fact their personal financial situation is unsustainable (a Dave Ramsey moment), the nation needs to wake up to the crisis--because we apparently won't act until we are convinced it is a crisis. Again, this is not without hope, but it will take national focus and resolve.

If you don't want to invest the time to watch IOUSA, there is a 30 minute version here. Also, the Wall Street Journal recently featured this interview with Walker. And, for film fans who can't get enough of the gloomy fiscal genre, check out Maxed Out.