Republican Pushes Bill to Kill Trillion Dollar Platinum Coin

Republican Pushes Bill to Kill Trillion Dollar Platinum Coin
on Tue, 8 Jan 2013

Big Government



On Monday, Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) said he will introduce a bill to stop a scheme floated by some liberals to mint a trillion dollar platinum coin to bankroll the federal government’s runaway spending spree.

“Some people are in denial about the need to reduce spending and balance the budget,” said Rep. Walden. “This scheme to mint trillion dollar platinum coins is absurd and dangerous, and would be laughable if the proponents weren’t so serious about it as a solution. I’m introducing a bill to stop it in its tracks.”

With the debt ceiling debates rapidly approaching, liberals have gone into overdrive conjuring up ways to sidestep Republican efforts to curb President Barack Obama’s explosion of federal spending. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reportedly favor Mr. Obama running roughshod over the 14th Amendment and issuing an executive order to raise the debt limit. Others, like New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, continue to tout the magical trillion dollar platinum coin solution.

But Rep. Walden says Americans demand serious solutions from their leaders:

My wife and I have owned and operated a small business since 1986. When it came time to pay the bills, we couldn’t just mint a coin to create more money out of thin air. We sat down and figured out how to balance the books. That’s what Washington needs to do as well. My bill will take the coin scheme off the table by disallowing the Treasury to mint platinum coins as a way to pay down the debt. We must reduce spending and get our fiscal house in order.
As inane as the platinum trillion coin may seem, Twitter now boasts the hashtag (#MintTheCoin), and over 6,000 people have signed a White House petition urging the United States Mint to create the coin.