Last month, Congress voted for a short-term extension of the debt ceiling. But nothing has changed. Come December, there will be a politically heavy lift to get it hiked again. If it doesn’t get hiked in time, the U.S. could face an unthinkable default. But, as we’ve discussed before, there is an alternative option, which is to have the Treasury mint a trillion dollar coin. Treasury Secretary Yellen has been very dismissive of the idea, but in a crunch it still might be the best option available to the White House. But does the law really allow for it? And how did this law even come about? On this episode, we speak with Philip Diehl, the former Director of the U.S. Mint, and the author of the 1996 law that gives the Treasury such discretion over platinum coinage. He explains the origin of the law, and the politics of coinage more generally. Also joining us is Rohan Grey, a professor at Willamette Law School, who was also on our previous episode. The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Megaphone.fm: This Is How They Could Literally Mint...
