I.O.U.S.A.
with director Patrick Creadon
Director: Patrick Creadon
Writer: Patrick Creadon
Release Date: 2008
Genre: Documentary
Plot: I.O.U.S.A. boldly examines the rapidly growing national debt and its consequences for the United States and its citizens. As the Baby Boomer generation prepares to retire, will there even be any Social Security benefits left to collect? 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. Throughout history, the American government has found it nearly impossible to spend only what has been raised through taxes. Wielding candid interviews with both average American taxpayers and government officials, Sundance veteran Patrick Creadon (Wordplay) helps demystify the nation's financial practices and policies. The film follows U.S. Comptroller General David Walker as he crisscrosses the country explaining America's unsustainable fiscal policies to its citizens. With surgical precision, Creadon interweaves archival footage and economic data to paint a vivid and alarming profile of America's current economic situation. The ultimate power of I.O.U.S.A. is that the film moves beyond doomsday rhetoric to proffer potential financial scenarios and propose solutions about how we can recreate a fiscally sound nation for future generations.

FEATURED GUESTS:

David Walker - Former Comptroller General, Head of GAO
(Saturday Screening)
As Comptroller General of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) from 1998 to 2008, spanning both Democratic and Republican administrations, Dave served as the federal government's chief auditor. Appointed by President Bill Clinton and confirmed unanimously by the US Senate, he was an outspoken, nonpartisan advocate for addressing the major fiscal and other sustainability challenges facing the country. He also enacted transformational reforms at the agency and within the accountability profession.

Prior to his appointment to run the GAO, Dave served as a partner and global managing director of Arthur Andersen LLP and in several government leadership positions, including as a Public Trustee for Social Security and Medicare from 1990 to 1995 and as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Pension and Welfare Benefit Programs during the Reagan administration.

Although no longer the US government's chief auditor, Dave continues to serve as a global accountability expert as chairman of the United Nations Independent Audit Advisory Committee. He also serves on the boards of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the Partnership for Public Service. He has authored two books, is a regular commentator, and is the subject of the critically acclaimed documentary I.O.U.S.A., which arrives in theatres around the country in August 2008.

Addison Wiggin - Agora Financial
(Sunday Screening)
Addison Wiggin is the editorial director and publisher of The Daily Reckoning, and executive publisher of Agora Financial, a multi-million dollar financial research firm and publishing group based in Baltimore, Maryland.

His second edition of The Demise of the Dollar... and Why it's Even Better for Your Investments was just fully revised and updated.

He is also the Executive Producer of and a writer of I.O.U.S.A. a feature length documentary film nominated for the Grand Jury prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. The film is inspired by the international bestsellers Financial Reckoning Day and Empire of Debt, which he coauthored with Bill Bonner.

The Daily Reckoning has attracted more than 500,000 readers in the United States and Great Britain, has been translated into French, German and Spanish, and has been popularized by such mainstream publications as Money and Marketwatch.com. Wiggin has been featured as an expert in such publications as The New York Times Magazine, Worth, Time Magazine, The MotleyFool.com, The Street.com and CNN/Money.

Harry Zeeve - Concord Coalition
National Field Director
Harry Zeeve is the National Field Director of The Concord Coalition. The Concord Coalition is a nationwide, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public about the federal budget and its consequences for the future. The Concord Coalition has established chapters in states throughout the nation.

Mr. Zeeve has a degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts and a law degree from Boston College Law School.

Following his graduation from law school, Mr. Zeeve worked in-house as an attorney for a Texas corporation. He joined The Concord Coalition as a volunteer in 1993, and joined Concord’s staff as the Kansas and Missouri Coordinator in 1995. In 1996, Mr. Zeeve became Concord’s California Coordinator and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1997 as Concord’s National Field Director.

As National Field Director, Mr. Zeeve is responsible for coordinating Concord’s grassroots activities such as developing chapters, organizing educational events with Members of Congress, federal agencies and other policy organizations, and coordinating guest op-eds, television and radio appearances with Concord’s Field Staff.


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Screenings:
Saturday, September 20 • 10:00 am • 85 min • Avalon Theatre
with Patrick Creadon

Sunday, September 21 • 1:00 pm • 85 min • Avalon Theatre
with Patrick Creadon