There was a cheesy comedy movie in the late 70s staring John Ritter called "Americathon". I forgot most of the movie but I vaguely remember that the plot depicted an America that was broke, where people lived in their cars and traveled by bicycle on bicycle freeways, and the President played by Ritter, organized a world wide telethon to beg the world for money to balance the budget.
It seems life is about to imitate art, and bad art at that.
At this rate, we won’t survive another year without a major “event”.
I vaguely remember it too. The key thing that stuck out for me is that it featured a fake commercial for vacationing in "scenic, peaceful Vietnam". The funny thing is that co-workers of mine are doing just that!