Billionaires aim for a reckoning on federal debt

THE PLAYERS: Pete Peterson, founder of Blackstone Group LP private equity firm and U.S. Commerce Secretary under President Nixon; Warren Buffet, head of Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway holding company; former federal officials. THE MOVIE: Premiering Thursday, the new documentary "I.O.U.S.A." is part of Peterson's campaign to insert the ballooning debt into the presidential campaign. Peterson has pledged $1 billion to help raise the alarm about the federal budget deficit, shortfalls in Medicare and Social Security funding, the trade deficit and Americans' meager savings. THE PLOT: If left unchecked, according to Buffett (a Democrat) and Peterson (a Republican), federal debts totaling more than $53 trillion could cripple future... [read full story]