Tip of the Day: Read, watch "I.O.U.S.A."

This month, EBN reports that the trillions of dollars lost in national wealth from collapsing companies, lost jobs and homes, failing banks and sliding stock market as a result of the recession is simply too large for Americans to comprehend -- yet too large for them to ignore either, according to the authors and producers of “I.O.U.S.A.,” the 2008 book and documentary about our national debt and financial failings.

"These numbers are overwhelming for most Americans,” says co-author Addison Wiggin. “The simple fact is, we’ve been successful as a nation for so long that the average citizen doesn’t have a clue what’s happening on Wall Street or in the economy. Fear of gigantic numbers, seemingly indiscernible statistics, debates over theory and partisan bickering only add to the confusion. When people don’t understand something, it’s easier to just dismiss it.”

However, the current economic state is not something employers and employees can dismiss anymore. To help individuals and companies understand what went wrong and where the U.S. economy can go from here, “I.O.U.S.A.” -- both the book and film -- illustrates the financial crises in an easy-to-understand way by examining four deficits before the nation: the budget deficit, personal savings deficit, trade deficit and leadership deficit.

Called by Reuters “an ‘Inconvenient Truth’ for the U.S. economy,” Wiggin hopes the book and film will help Americans “rethink what they expect from their government, and by extension, how they plan for their own future.”

To order a copy of “I.O.U.S.A.,” or view a 30-minute version of the film, visit http://www.iousathemovie.com/.