Shut up and mint the coin

It’s time to mint the coin, sickos!

If you haven’t been being attentive to the most tragically on-line sectors of the monetary web, right here’s a abstract: the authorities is about to grind to a halt — sure, once more — to argue over the nationwide debt. But there’s a method out, and it’s been identified for years. What we do is mint a $1 trillion platinum coin.

Since 2003, there’s been an growing degree of dumbfuck nonsense from our elected officers round the debt ceiling. The “debt ceiling” is a restrict on authorities spending that was instituted in 1917. When there’s a Democrat in the White House — and generally, even when there isn’t — politicians determine that taking part in with the debt ceiling is a good way to get their pet insurance policies handed. These buffoons love taking part in hen with the thought of defaulting on our authorities debt! Why they assume that is cute or humorous, I don’t know, however in 2003, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, and now, we’ve needed to sit by means of a bunch of farce about the debt ceiling.

If we hit the ceiling, the US might default on our money owed, which might doubtlessly fuck up the total world financial system. I strongly suspect the  “productive” talks occurring proper now are mainly cosplay so the markets gained’t freak out. But if we default, anybody who has a 401(okay) retirement account goes to see their retirement go up in smoke.

There are theoretically adult-sounding methods to revise the legislation to repair this drawback, however I invite you to ponder our elected officers. Nobody in Congress seems able to even pretending to behave like an grownup. So in that spirit, I current to you the coin, which is cool as hell.

What occurs is that the US Treasury mints a platinum coin and deposits it at the Federal Reserve, and Congress is moot. We know the coin is authorized; mainly, a legislation handed in 1997 provides the Treasury full unilateral authority to mint platinum cash of any sort, for any cause. (This is separate from the course of of accelerating the provide of cash, which originates with the Federal Reserve.) Former head of the US Mint Philip Diehl has mentioned it may be achieved — so I believe the principal objection is that it comes from individuals who have been ruined by the web.

That’s proper, the platinum coin thought in its present kind got here from the remark part of a weblog referred to as Pragmatic Capitalism in 2011. The terminally on-line have been speaking about it each time we’ve had a debt ceiling disaster ever since.

In principle, it isn’t an ideal thought to meme coverage into existence. In apply, if we don’t do it, the debt ceiling standoffs by no means finish. There are severe grownups who’ve written coverage papers about the coin, however I’m not centered on that. If you desire a severe case for minting the coin, right here’s one. Me? I’m centered on (1) the coin is cool and (2) the debt ceiling debates suck.

Plus, take into consideration the designs we might placed on it, particularly if we, for example, make it roughly the dimension of a hubcap and perhaps additionally make it glow in the darkish. I don’t see why the Canadian Mint will get to have all the enjoyable.

The coin is an thought whose time has come. Let’s shitpost our method into solvency. It’s time to mint the coin and be legends.