Time is money

On the federal debt crisis, leaders aren’t leading | Sam Thielman

Associated Press/Photo by Nati Harnik

And now for a really inconvenient truth: The national deficit is going to cause large problems very soon. On the face of it, the assertions made by Patrick Creadon's surprisingly engaging new documentary I.O.U.S.A. are pretty elementary: Personal profligacy contributes to a trade deficit; you can't lower taxes and raise spending simultaneously without borrowing money; you'll regret borrowing money from the wrong people.

But these are the truths, Creadon claims, that our leaders ignore. His documentary is frightening mostly because of its various timelines, extrapolated from our current public spending and taxation plans: Do you know when the national debt clock will have to be replaced because it won't have enough zeroes on it? Probably early next year. Do you know how old you'll be when Social Security will officially pay out more than it takes in? Apparently, I'll be 36.