$1 Trillion Platinum Coins to "Solve" Debt Limit Issue

[RonPaulFanInGA]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...eiling-crisis/

Some economists and legal scholars have suggested that the “platinum coin option” is one way to defuse a crisis if Congress can’t or won’t lift the debt ceiling soon. At least in theory. The U.S. government is, after all, facing a real problem. The Treasury Department will hit its $16.4 trillion borrowing limit by next February at the latest. Unless Congress reaches an agreement to raise that borrowing limit, the government will no longer be able to borrow enough money to pay all its bills. Last year, Republicans in Congress resisted lifting the debt ceiling until the last minute — and then only in exchange for spending cuts. Panic ensued. So what happens if there’s another showdown this year? Enter the platinum coins. Thanks to an odd loophole in current law, the U.S. Treasury is technically allowed to mint as many coins made of platinum as it wants and can assign them whatever value it pleases. Under this scenario, the U.S. Mint would produce (say) a pair of trillion-dollar platinum coins. The president orders the coins to be deposited at the Federal Reserve. The Fed then moves this money into Treasury’s accounts. And just like that, Treasury suddenly has an extra $2 trillion to pay off its obligations for the next two years — without needing to issue new debt. The ceiling is no longer an issue.

“I like it,” says Joseph Gagnon of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “There’s nothing that’s obviously economically problematic about it.” In theory, this is much like having the central bank print money. But, says Gagnon, the U.S. government would simply be using the money to keep spending at existing levels, so it wouldn’t create any extra inflation. And if it did cause problems, the Fed could always counteract the effects by winding down some of its other programs to inject money into the economy. Is the platinum coin option really legal? Apparently so. It was discussed* during the 2011 debt-ceiling crisis by Jack Balkin, a law professor at Yale Law School. Under law, he noted, there’s a limit to how much paper money the United States can circulate at any one time, and there are rules that limit how many gold, silver and copper coins the Treasury can mint. But there’s no such limit when it comes to platinum coins.

[oyarde]

I will pay $1599 for one

[oyarde]

Maybe the West Point Mint ? lol

[tod evans]

It's just printing more money....Creating it out of thin air (or even platinum) is still not having a currency backed by anything but smoke-n-mirrors...

[mad cow]

They could also mint a couple thousand billion dollar copper coins,in case they had to make change.

[oyarde]

They could also mint a couple thousand billion dollar copper coins,in case they had to make change.

I will give $6 for one of those . I will put it up on my shelf next to my desk with my 1 ounce Ron Paul copper coin.

[TheTexan]

Unless Congress reaches an agreement to raise that borrowing limit, the government will no longer be able to borrow enough money to pay all its bills.

This always cracks me up

[Dr.3D]

I'm having problems with how or where they are going to come up with a two trillion dollars worth of platinum.

[acptulsa]

I'm having problems with how or where they are going to come up with a two trillion dollars worth of platinum.

Intrinsic value? From our government? Seriously? Holding your breath?

Would be entertaining, though. I want to see the press they strike it with. I also want to see the armored car they build to hold it.

[RonPaulFanInGA]

I'm having problems with how or where they are going to come up with a two trillion dollars worth of platinum.

They're not. They're just going to use $3,000 worth of platinum and say it's two trillion.

Why don't they just strike up a $16,000,000,000,000 coin and pay off all the debt in one fell swoop?

[oyarde]

I'm having problems with how or where they are going to come up with a two trillion dollars worth of platinum.

They will not , they will say 1 trillion and be somewhere around an ounce to a quarter pound. I have a one gram silver coin from the Canadian mint , it is $20.

[oyarde]

They're not. They're just going to use $3,000 worth of platinum and say it's two trillion.

Why don't they just strike up a $16,000,000,000,000 coin and pay off all the debt in one fell swoop?

Yep , they may even go , $3200 or more ....

[alucard13mmfmj]

im gonnna assume platinum plated with a nickle or zinc core..

[Dr.3D]

Intrinsic value? From our government? Seriously? Holding your breath?

Would be entertaining, though. I want to see the press they strike it with. I also want to see the armored car they build to hold it.

Well, if there are only two of them, it's not like somebody is going to mint more of them and fool anybody.
I take it that owning one of them would be illegal.

[oyarde]

They will not stop at two , they will need two per year.

[Tod]

Why don't they just strike up a $16,000,000,000,000 coin and pay off all the debt in one fell swoop?

Exactly! And while they are at it, why not mint a coin worth a trillion trillion dollars, we can then eliminate all taxes, distribute a fortune to each one, and live like kings, all of us!

[youngbuck]

WTF, ROFL, just when I thought I'd heard it all...

[Anti Federalist]

Worked for Zimbabwe

[parocks]

They're not. They're just going to use $3,000 worth of platinum and say it's two trillion.

Why don't they just strike up a $16,000,000,000,000 coin and pay off all the debt in one fell swoop?

this could work, with consequences.

[Anti Federalist]

They're not. They're just going to use $3,000 worth of platinum and say it's two trillion.

Why don't they just strike up a $16,000,000,000,000 coin and pay off all the debt in one fell swoop?

'Cos the real debt is closer to $60 trillion.

So they would have to stamp 4 of them, for good measure.

[oyarde]

You read my mind AF, been thinking about Zimbabwe since I started reading this thread. I bid once , in an auction , on one of those bills signed by Ron Paul

[Dr.3D]

Worked for Zimbabwe

I bought ten of those so I could say I had one quadrillion dollars.

[paulbot24]

This sounds like the work of Turbo Timmy. A strange loophole huh? The only loopholes I'm interested in are nooses....to hang these theives and jokers by the neck for all the world to see.

[Confederate]

The mint can't produce any coins without authorization from Congress, though. They can't create new denominations without consent from Congress. I'd like to see this supposed loophole the author is talking about.

[AGRP]

Is this from the onion?

[paulbot24]

"Under law, he noted, there’s a limit to how much paper money the United States can circulate at any one time."

How have we not exceeded that paper limit by now? According to their logic, most of our "paper" money is electronic, so these clowns would probably say there's a loophole for that as well.

[AGRP]

I think a question mark is called for in the title of this thread. Its simply an idea that seems to originate from blog poster or Yale law professor. The "legal" loophole seems to be intended for commemorative coins.

[paulbot24]

It sounds like our government's way of making a mockery of, and discouraging the stockpiling of precious metals, and bringing PMs down to the level of the fiat. Then again, I find evidence of government conspiracy in my oatmeal every morning so who knows.