Last week, Paul Krugman (and others) argued that the Obama administration should be prepared to take advantage of a legal loophole allowing them to mint a trillion dollar platinum coin, effectively short circuiting the debt ceiling debate.
But today, Ezra Klein is reporting that the Treasury won’t mint the coin and, even if they did, the Federal Reserve wouldn’t accept it.
According to Anthony Coley, spokesman for the Treasury Department:
“Neither the Treasury Department nor the Federal Reserve believes that the law can or should be used to facilitate the production of platinum coins for the purpose of avoiding an increase in the debt limit.”
Meanwhile, I’m predicting that we’ll see #ceilicliffageddon trending on Twitter before all is said and done. After all, we’ll be dealing with both the debt ceiling and the spending side of the fiscal cliff in the next six weeks.
And now… Here are some articles that caught my eye this past week:
- Choosing Simplicity in the New Year – Sometimes the simplest approach really is the best approach. Especially when it comes to investing.
- 2013 Tax Brackets and Other Tax Changes – The dust has settled and we now know what our income tax brackets will look like going forward.
- Stop Credit Cards from Mailing Blank Checks – I agree. This is a hugely wasteful practice and it puts you at risk of fraud.
- Buying on a Dip with Your IRA Contribution – I’m not a fan of market timing but, given our current political climate… This might be a good move.
- How to Avoid Paying a Mandatory Gratuity for Bad Service – Few things piss me off more than an 18% auto-gratuity for crappy service.
- Capital Substitutes for Labor, and Vice Versa – Reversing the 4% rule.
Finally, the Tax Carnival included my post on deducting IRA contributions.
That’s it. I hope you’re having a great weekend.
{ 0 comments… add one now }