Slashdot Mirror
Congressman Introduces Bill To Ban Minting of Trillion-Dollar Coin
Dainsanefh writes with news that the new Congress isn't wasting any time getting back to work. From the article: "Lawmakers are still positioning themselves for a debt ceiling fight in a few months, but one Republican congressman wants to snuff out a particular idea immediately: the U.S. Treasury minting $1 trillion platinum coins to avert a debt ceiling showdown. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) has introduced a bill to specifically ban President Barack Obama from minting the coins. The trillion-dollar coin has been previously discussed on Slashdot:"
It's a long way from introducing a bill to getting it through Congress and signed by the President.
You know that war you're fighting? The one with no point or purpose?
Why don't you just stop?
Like, just pack it up. Leave. Go home.
Instead of cutting a bunch of little growths, why not just take out the tumour and save the effort? No one would blame you. No one would care. Oh sure we'll make fun of you for a bit, but it'll be forgotten, or rewritten. No one will really be that upset by it.
Go on. We're here for you.
I mean, why should the United States of America resort to legal loopholes ?
Why can't America just face the reality as it is - that it is spending way too much money than it is making??
How long do you think America can keep spending the money it doesn't have?
I mean, even if America get the minting of quadrillion-dollar plutonium ingot going, the world doesn't have to "buy" it.
All of us balance our own checkbook at the end of every single month, and try our best to live within our means.
Why can't America?
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
I want to plant this unsavory image in your mind: Rep. Wilson has taking the podium in the House chamber, unzipped his pants, and is waving his dysfunctional penis at everyone in the room, along with the television audience on CSPAN. As each House member (yes, it is a pun) responds to him, they also expose themselves and start failing around so that everyone starts looking at their genitals. Soon they are all yelling and competing so that everyone will look at them more then any other idiot in the room.
This is pretty much what this proposal is all about: a mass outbreak of useless posturing that gets in the way of anything meaningful. I think we would, in fact, be better off if they were behaving like mentally disordered perverts. At least they would not be pretending to be "doing the peoples business", and would be acting out their true egomaniac personalities. The empty outcome would be identical with both activities, and exposing themselves in public would be much more honest.
Why is Snark Required?
But, you know, I would like to know why Congressman Walden voted against limiting funding for the war in Afghanistan [votesmart.org]? Probably because he's actually for spending taxpayer money, increasing the debt and then trying to stick the president with the bill at the end of the night so he looks like a dumbass.
This right here is the problem. The problem is that the debt ceiling has no impact on reducing spending. Why? Because only APPROVED budgets count against the debt ceiling. In other words, if a budget passes but the debt ceiling isn't raised, it's because some members of congress want to have their cake and eat it too by passing huge budgets and then complaining about them.
The real solution to the debt ceiling problem is to either remove the debt ceiling discussion, or have it automatically follow the budget. Anyone who complains about the debt ceiling is either a moron or wants to score political points with morons.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
Banks. People that charge interest on loans. It's just lazy rent seeking. But it adds no value to the economy and only serves as a means of concentrating capital into a few wealthy folks. Like, do you really believe that the the only people that work are the people that push buttons on Wall Street, right before they beg for a bailout. Yep, sounds about right to me. I think a 47% that makes sandwiches at Wawa does more useful work than a lot of people that work at brokerages.
This is my sig.
I agree, the minting of a trillion dollar platinum coin is rediculous. But so is holding the good faith and credit of the United States hostage to further far right wing ideas and policies. Obama won the election. The only reason the house is still in the hands of the Republicans is a decades long plan of re-districting or as I call it "rigging" of the electoral process in many states of the U.S. Face it Repubs, reform now or go down the sh*thole of history.
My karma is bad. Don't get too close!!!
This is the problem with the public. Taxes in the U.S., overall, are already quite low compared to other nations and to our history. They need to rise, most especially on the weathy, not be lowered.
"Allowed" by whom? There are numerous "third parties" on the ballot in most states; and while third parties rarely win directly due to out fsck-up electoral system, voting for them does influence the Big Two.
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
You cannot wash away blood with blood
Most people in the street in Europe are in the street because want to work, if possible with more than a minimum wage salary (because it has been a long time since minimum wage is far lower than subsistance wage in a lot of countries. Unless you can teleport from city to country side for free twice a day) They are also in the street because they don't think that it is the best investment of their taxpayer money to spend trillions saving the bank while leaving people in the street having their house repossessed AND still be in debt.
If you print money, wages never keep up with the resulting inflation. If you are rich you have assets which will appreciate in value. The rich will never be hurt by these policies. Printing money is a secret tax on the poor and middle class.
Actually, from an economics pov, a trillion-dollar coin thing might actually work. Given that the last couple of rounds of quantitative easing had zero impact on inflation, and that we're in a liquidity trap, it's entirely possible that no inflation would result. The reasoning is that government spending is what causes inflation (in large part... fiscal policy), and since neither quantitative easing or seigniorage (the trillion dollar coin idea) changes that necessarily, inflation should hold steady. The money supply would only increase as congress spends it, which is about the same as now, in effect, since congress has been spending for years without paying the bill.
I expect a lot of flames now... Yes there are flaws in the plan, but I am interested in seeing this idea explored in depth (pro and con) by economics experts. The fact that so many people, particularly Republicans, call it absurd while continuing to merely kick the can down the road makes me think (perhaps out of spite) that maybe there's something in that proposal that can finally break this vicious cycle.
We can tell from other parts of the world that simply focusing on austerity makes things worse, not better. But continuing to simply raise the debt ceiling while risking people's retirement savings in government bonds, isn't good either. Except for the possibility of some inflation, and the question as to it's legality (since it would effectively break the Fed's power), PCS seems like quite a decent way out. Or else we should just admit that our grand experiment has failed and throw in the towel.
Is the government can't save money. Part of a sound personal budget is saving money in good times so it can be spent in bad times. Fair enough, but the government can't do that. It is meaningless for the entity that mints money to "save" it. If the government printed, or rather simply changed the entry in a database, so they had more money, but then didn't put that money in to circulation and "saved" it, it would have the effect as if they'd done nothing. If instead they actually took money out of circulation, kept it when they collected taxes or what have you, it would lead to deflation which is a very, very bad thing.
So what does the government do? Well it borrows. When the government "saves" what it does instead is to pay down the amount of outstanding debt. Then when it "spends savings" it issues more debt.
That is how it works. You can't compare public accounts to private ones because they function different. You can't demand that the government run itself the same way you run your personal finances, because they aren't the same.
That isn't to say that the government doesn't need to keep borrowing reasonable, but it is very different than personal borrowing.
This is the useless crap Congress actually makes time for. The President can't order a Trillion dollar coin be struck so it's a waste of time. This is another attempt to damage the President. Now the story will be that Obama planned to pay the billions by striking this mythic trillion dollar coin. The conservatives will believe it because they want to believe it. Paranoia and fear rules this country. Common sense left the building some time ago.