Debt: The Movie

Can a movie get people fired up about the national debt? I.O.U.S.A. is going to try.

The documentary is opening in more than 400 theaters this Thursday, including a live national town hall discussion featuring Warren Buffett, Pete Peterson and former comptroller general David Walker, all of whom have been sounding the alarm about this issue. The Peterson Foundation is putting a lot of effort behind promoting the movie (and other efforts to get the public involved, including funding Public Agenda's role in the Students Face Up to the Nation's Finances initiative). The goal is to be, as Reuters put it, "An Inconvenient Truth" for the economy. And the public certainly needs to know about the dire state of our nation's finances.

But will it work? I haven't seen the movie yet, but I'm hopeful people are ready to listen. I've talked to a lot of people this year about this problem, and I've been really struck by two things. One is that few Americans actually know how bad the situation is. This is one of those facts that everybody inside the Beltway understands – and yes, that includes Barack Obama and John McCain – but very few outside the Beltway know.

The second is how quickly people grasp onto the situation once they know the basic facts and how open they are to solutions. And this is critical. Because there's no way the American people are going to allow the government to make changes to their retirement plans, their health care, and their taxes without their consent. If I.O.U.S.A. can move people to start thinking about these issues and what needs to be done, then it's made a major contribution.

If you want to get a taste of the movie, here's the trailer. If you want to find out where it's playing and maybe get in on the town hall Thursday night, you can find out here.