Markets

THIS COIN CAN SAVE AMERICA

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platinum coin 100
Wikimedia Commons

A couple of weeks ago, before everyone realized that the debt ceiling fight would get this bad, a comment on Cullen Roche's blog, Pragmatic Capitalism proposed that Treasury just end this crisis by minting a $1 trillion platinum coin that would allow Geithner to walk to the Fed, buy back $1 trillion in debt, and retire that.

Apparently, minting coins is totally under Geithner's control.

Anyway, since then this idea has gone viral.

CNBC, The Economist, and NYMag have now gotten bullish on this idea.

So are we since a) it would end the crisis and b) it would be a great lesson in how our monetary system works.

By the way: that coin's obviously just worth $100, so you'd have to add a few zeroes.

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Prior to joining Business Insider in October 2008, Joe was a correspondent for paidContent.org, as well as the Opening Bell editor at Dealbreaker.com. He previously was a writer and analyst for Techdirt.com, and before that worked as an analyst for money management firm Prentiss Smith & Co.He got started writing with his own infrequently updated blog TheStalwart.com. A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, Joe's interests include Chinese food, chess and poker.The former Executive Editor, he left Business Insider in 2014.