Last night I went to see I.O.U.S.A. at a theater near my house and to be very candid I was going primarily for “work-related purposes” since my job for the past 13 years has revolved around credit card debt. In other words, I was looking at this as kind of a continuing education class just keep up with the times and stay abreast of the latest information.
This was the first time I ever went to a movie with a pen and notepad in hand, and I was basically expecting to be sharing the theater with 10-12 other people that dealt with the financial industry in one way or another.
Boy, was I in for a surprise.
I walked into the theater 10 minutes before the show started and the placed was packed. I was STUNNED. Absolutely blown away. I actually had to sit in those seats way down in the front that no one ever sits in because that’s all that was available!
The fact that SO many people turned out for this event, especially when it was not publicized in the mainstream media, was a refreshing realization (for me) that the public at large is deeply concerned about the state of our economy and the massive debt that we are racking up … and the effects that it is going to have on our children and grandchildren, and our society in general, if we don’t do something about it.
I.O.U.S.A. is a sobering documentary based on actual financial data. The movie is very well done and they do a great job of explaining our current state of affairs, how we got into this financial mess and the potential ramifications if we don’t start taking corrective action now. As someone that has worked in the financial industry for many years, even I was a bit startled at the impact that our country’s massive debt load has on our everyday standard of living, not to mention our national security.
For more information:
CNBC video with Warren Buffett and David Walker (8-22-08)
