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A platinum solution to fiscal woes: $1 trillion coin
(Reuters) - If you had to flip a coin over whether Congress will raise the debt ceiling, here's the ultimate one - a freshly minted trillion-dollar platinum coin.
A formal petition has been started asking the White House to create such a coin in order to avoid another high-stakes fiscal battle to raise the debt ceiling.
The Treasury secretary has the authority to mint platinum coins in the denomination of his choosing, but likely would run into stiff opposition from lawmakers who have been trying to reduce the budget deficits.
Creating the cash would also completely override the independence of monetary policy, something the Obama administration has been very careful not to do in the past.
The coin petition is one of many wacky requests to alight on the White House's website. People have petitioned the President to nationalize the Twinkie industry, deport British CNN talk show host Piers Morgan for gun control comments he made on air, and give Vice President Joe Biden his own TV show.
A formal petition has been started asking the White House to create such a coin in order to avoid another high-stakes fiscal battle to raise the debt ceiling.
The Treasury secretary has the authority to mint platinum coins in the denomination of his choosing, but likely would run into stiff opposition from lawmakers who have been trying to reduce the budget deficits.
Creating the cash would also completely override the independence of monetary policy, something the Obama administration has been very careful not to do in the past.
The coin petition is one of many wacky requests to alight on the White House's website. People have petitioned the President to nationalize the Twinkie industry, deport British CNN talk show host Piers Morgan for gun control comments he made on air, and give Vice President Joe Biden his own TV show.
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