Thursday, October 22, 2009

One Nation, Under Debt: 'I.O.U.S.A.' Screened At Washington College


CHESTERTOWN – The Washington College Republican Club will present a screening of the acclaimed (and alarming) documentary “I.O.U.S.A.: One Nation, Under Stress, In Debt” at Litrenta Lecture Hall on Sunday, November 1, at 7 p.m.

“I.O.U.S.A.” opened to resounding praise in 2008. The New York Times hailed it as “resolutely non-partisan … a documentary everyone should see.” Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times declared, “‘I.O.U.S.A.’ accomplishes an amazing thing. It explains the national debt.”

The United States, as the film warns, is on the brink of a financial meltdown. Throughout history, the federal government has found it nearly impossible to spend only what has been raised through taxes.

Now, burdened with an ever-expanding government and military, increased international competition, overextended entitlement programs and debts to foreign countries that are becoming impossible to honor, America must mend its spendthrift ways or face an economic disaster of epic proportions, the documentary asserts.

Featuring candid interviews with both average American taxpayers and government officials, “I.O.U.S.A.” helps demystify the nation’s financial practices and policies. The film follows former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker as he quixotixally crisscrosses the country explaining America’s unsustainable fiscal policies to its citizens.

The film interweaves archival footage and economic data to paint a vivid and disturbing profile of America’s current economic situation. But the ultimate power of “I.O.U.S.A.” is that it moves beyond doomsday rhetoric to proffer potential financial scenarios and propose solutions about how Americans can recreate a fiscally sound nation for future generations.

Litrenta Lecture Hall is located in the John S. Toll Science Center. Admission to “I.O.U.S.A.: One Nation, Under Stress, In Debt” free and open to the public.

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