An idea — serious or not — is being floated to get us out of debt: have the Treasury mint a $1 trillion platinum coin, put it in the vault, and hey presto, problem solved.
The idea has won the endorsement of Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman, a former head of the U.S. Mint, and Harvard Law School Professor Laurence Tribe. “Should President Obama be willing to print a $1 trillion platinum coin if Republicans try to force America into default? Yes, absolutely,” Krugman wrote.
This has all the makings of a Wile E. Coyote scheme, which given the way things are going in Washington, it might just work.
And now there’s the idea of printing scrip – not unlike the Revolutionary War. Back to basics. Next we can try barter.
The problem with the Suzy B’s and other dollar coins was the possibility that vendors – and especially vending machines – wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between them and quarters, causing people to lose money unnecessarily. I think the whinging with the $1T coin is the converse: vending machine companies – especially folks like Coca-Cola and Frito-Lay – are having nightmares about building a machine that could handle the new coin, and demanding huge concessions from Congress for the R&D.
*paws frantically through the penny jar* Damn! Now where did I put that coin…?
What’s wrong with Mr. Coyote? Can it be any crazier than defunding Planned Parenthood again? When Bugs Bunny shows up, I will start paying attention.