As an economics teacher, I feel it is part of my job to scare the crap out of my young students. Particularly, I want them to understand that they need to pay attention, hold politicians accountable, and vote. So, I show them the film below, I.O.U.S.A. The version here is the 30 minute version, but it does a great job of showing the financial abyss we are headed for if we don't get our heads out of our asses. It is a non-partisan and informed look at the problem.......just the opposite of the Tea Party gang, who are outraged about deficits, yet mostly ignorant about what is causing them and what needs to be done. Gather your friends and family and watch it! But go to the liquor store first. You will want to drink heavily after you watch it.
In relation to that, the Economix blog at the NYT reports that the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, who made the film below, polled a bunch of former government officials of both parties who are not running for anything and therefore able to answer truthfully. 68% said that the solution required both cuts in government programs AND higher taxes. Have you heard a politician running for anything say that? Of course not, and there's the problem. They tell us what we want to hear, and we are too stupid to want to hear the truth.
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