Posted on 10/05/2021 10:15:30 AM PDT by JV3MRC
New York Times economist Paul Krugman is rehashing a batty idea that former Daily Show host and comedian Jon Stewart mocked him for over eight years ago.
In a new blog headlined “Wonking Out: Biden Should Ignore the Debt Limit and Mint a $1 Trillion Coin,” Krugman dusted off an old neo-Keynesian idea of his that he peddled in 2013. He suggested Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen “mint a platinum coin with a face value of $1 trillion — no, it needn’t include $1 trillion worth of platinum — deposit it at the Federal Reserve and draw on that account to keep paying the government’s bills without borrowing.” Here’s the problem, not only has the idea been condemned as ridiculous, it also may not be legal. Florida Atlantic University Associate Professor of Economics William Luther noted Sept. 28 that “[t]he Treasury is authorized to mint platinum bullion and proof coins. It is *not* authorized to mint a platinum *token* coin. And that, it turns out, is an important distinction.” A bullion coin would in fact require $1 trillion worth of platinum, according to Luther, which is exactly what Krugman said was unnecessary.
Krugman’s idea is so idiotic that even the liberal Stewart made fun of him in 2013 when he tried to rebuke Stewart as being “lazy” for panning it. Stewart stated during a 2013 segment in response to Krugman that the $1 trillion coin was a “stupid f**king idea.” He ridiculed Krugman as “the only creature perhaps more noble than a freshly felched unicorn.” Stewart referenced an older, Jan. 10, 2013 segment, in which he quipped: “[I]f we’re gonna just make sh*t up,” why not a “$20 trillion coin?”
(Excerpt) Read more at newsbusters.org ...
If Krugman says its a good idea, know its its a horrible idea. Just do the opposite of whatever Krugman advocates for and we’ll be great.
“A bullion coin would in fact require $1 trillion worth of platinum, according to Luther”
Nonsense. A US $100 note costs .14 cents to produce and does not have $100 worth of anything in it.
A $1 trillion dollar coin could be made out of copper, zinc, pot metal, or it could even just be printed as a $1t note.
There is no legal requirement whatsoever for US currency to be backed by anything more than faith.
Krugman was right and Luther is an ass.
he was specifically referencing a platinum bullion coin. The tweet is hyperlinked. Krugman wants a “platinum” coin. If you were reading correctly you have noticed that.
““mint a platinum coin with a face value of $1 trillion.”
If one coin can be worth $1 trillion dollars, then, why not 1 million of those coins. If there is no treasury backing for a trillion dollar coin, then, why even bother to mint those coins? Just declare the national debt paid, and raise the the debt limit to ‘limitless’.
While they’re at it, I could use one of those trillion dollar coins. Better yet, just give me everything for free, and the same for everyone else.
Why not….that has worked well for other crashing state economies…
I LOVE the trillion dollar coin idea.
Our two biggest problems are restoring Constitutional money and getting rid of the Fed without undue disruption to the actual, as opposed to the financial, economy.
The trillion dollar coin does both, and in the blink of an eye.
Let’s ROLL.
Let’s mint 350,000,000 $1-trillion coons and give one to everyone.
I believe Zimbabwe has a bunch of those.
Whoopee that Krugman said ‘platinum’.
The actual LAW is that the Mint and the Treasury do not issue currency or coin that is linked to the value of the paper or metal used to depict a face value.
A one trillion dollar coin or note does not have to contain one trillion dollars worth of anything anymore than a $1 coin contains a dollar’s worth of metal.
OTOH, both of them suck.
I had a trillion dollar coin once but I accidentally used it to buy a Diet Coke.
“A US $100 note...does not have $100 worth of anything in it.”
Exactly! Just like $100 bills from the Confederate States of America, Zimbabwe, and many other currencies printed into oblivion.
They can put Hunter Biden’s face on the front and one of his snot paintings on the back.
Just refinance all debt to new debt payable in the year 3000. One giant balloon payment.
As Luther noted on bullion coins, “Face value is irrelevant. Its purchasing power is determined by the value of its metal weight.” Tweet: https://twitter.com/WilliamJLuther/status/1443749989386231814?s=20
“Bullion Coin: Precious metal coin traded at current bullion prices.”
Source: https://www.usmint.gov/learn/collecting-basics/glossary
Bud, take the “L.” You misread the blog.
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