Jump to content

I.O.U.S.A. – The Book

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 72.227.132.176 (talk) at 03:13, 21 November 2008. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

I.O.U.S.A.
AuthorAddison Wiggin
LanguageEnglish
GenreEconomics
PublisherJohn Wiley & Sons
Publication date
2008
Pages288
ISBNISBN 978-0-470-22277-5 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character

I.O.U.S.A.: One Nation. Under Stress. In Debt is the book companion for the documentary of the same name, published on September 29, 2008. At the time of the 2008 United States Presidential election, it was ranked number one on the Amazon.com best-seller list.[1]

Overview

This is the sixth book by Addison Wiggin, is the managing editor for The Daily Reckoning and author of such books as The Empire of Debt, Demise of the Dollar, and Financial Reckoning Day. I.O.U.S.A. shows the dismal state of the US economic system through interviews with business leaders, government officials and economists - most of whom were featured in the documentary.

These interviews include Warren Buffett, Alan Greenspan, Paul Volcker, Robert Rubin, Alice Rivlin, Pete Peterson, David Walker, Paul O’Neill, James Areddy, Arthur Laffer, Steve Forbes, and Bill Bonner.[2]

The book also deals with many of the startling facts and figures discussed in the documentary, as well as proposes several solutions to solve them. From the press release[3], some of the book's revelations are:

  • In November 2005 the national debt stood at $4.7 trillion. On August 31, 2007, the debt hit $8 trillion. As I.O.U.S.A. debuts in theatres this month, the debt will spiral over $9 trillion.
  • By January 2009, the U.S. federal debt will be over $10 trillion. The total federal fiscal hole will be around $56 trillion. And with each passing moment, your share, your children and grandchildren’s share goes up. Whatever measuring stick you care to use, the long-term finances of the federal government and by extension, the national economy are dismal and getting worse at an alarming rate. To meet its current obligations, the United States government racks up another $1.46 million of debt every day.
  • Every citizen already “owes” over $30,000. By 2010, that figure will be $38,000.
  • In 2005 and 2006, American households spent more money than they took home. That’s a negative savings rate. The last time the country had a negative savings rate was back in 1933 and 1934 – admittedly not good years for America or the world.
  • In 2007, the total U.S. trade deficit was $738.6 billion, which is down 9% from 2006. Much of the decline could be attributed to a decline in the value of the U.S. Dollar.
  • In less than ten years, China’s ownership of U.S. securities has gone from around $50 billion to more than $500 billion.
  • With our extremely low national savings rate, we have no choice but to turn to foreigners to finance our debt. U.S. debt held by foreigners totaled $2.5 trillion as of March 2008, and we borrow $711 billion more from the rest of the world then we lend to it.

Wiggin is a best-selling author and the book includes a foreword by David Walker, the Former United States Comptroller General.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.mytelus.com/ncp_news/article.en.do?pn=arts&articleID=3030971
  2. ^ Wiley P/T Press Room | I.O.U.S.A. by Addison Wiggin and David Walker
  3. ^ Wiley P/T Press Room | I.O.U.S.A. by Addison Wiggin and David Walker
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=I.O.U.S.A._–_The_Book&oldid=253119358"