Tag Archives: platinum coin seigniorage

Lavoie’s Critical Look at Modern Money Theory: A Reply

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Joe Firestone | 275 comments

In October 2011 Marc Lavoie, a post-keynesian economist, very friendly to Modern Money Theory (MMT) wrote a paper presenting a friendly critical look at MMT. In his conclusion, Lavoie states that “. . . the neo-chartalist analysis is essentially correct . . . “ affirming his substantial agreement with MMT’s analysis of banking operations and fiscal realities in nations with non-convertible fiat currencies, with floating exchange rates and no debts in currencies they do not issue, as well as MMT’s analysis of Eurozone viability. But he goes on to say (p. 25):

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275 Comments

Posted in Joe Firestone

Tagged Austerians, austerity, debt and deficits, marc lavoie, MMT, modern money theory, monetary sovereignty, MS, platinum coin seigniorage

Mr. President, End Debt Ceiling Hostage-taking for Good!

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Joe Firestone | 11 comments

On May 9, 2013, The Republican House passed H.R. 807 the Full Faith and Credit Act. The Bill says in part:

(a) In General- In the event that the debt of the United States Government, as defined in section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, reaches the statutory limit, the Secretary of the Treasury shall, in addition to any other authority provided by law, issue obligations under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, to pay with legal tender, and solely for the purpose of paying, the principal and interest on obligations of the United States described in subsection (b) after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Obligations Described- For purposes of this subsection, obligations described in this subsection are obligations which are–
(1) held by the public, or
(2) held by the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and Disability Insurance Trust Fund.

So, in brief, the Bill provides for the Treasury, even when it is about to reach the debt ceiling, to issue additional debt to pay principal and interest on debt instruments issued to the public including foreign nations, and to pay principal and interest on Social Security (SS) “trust fund bonds” in the course of paying SS recipients. Continue reading →

11 Comments

Posted in Joe Firestone

Tagged $60 Trillion Coin, austerity, debt and deficits, debt ceiling, debt limit, Full Faith and Credit Act, High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage, HVPCS, MMT, modern money theory, platinum coin seigniorage

Framing Platinum Coin Seigniorage: A Working Document

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Devin Smith | 9 comments

By Joe Firestone

Jack Foster proposed a framing document for High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage, in a recent comment he made on one of my posts. In response, I posted a six-part blog series to accommodate readers who prefer the blog format.

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9 Comments

Posted in Joe Firestone

Tagged #PCS, #TDC, $60 T coin, austerity, debt ceiling, Fiscal Policy, game-changing PCS, High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage, HVPCS, MMT, modern money theory, platinum coin seigniorage, Trillion Dollar Coin

Framing Platinum Coin Seigniorage: Part Six, More Political/Economic Objections

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Devin Smith | 11 comments

By Joe Firestone

This series provides a framing document for Platinum Coin Seigniorage (PCS). In the five previous parts of the series, I pointed out that there are three classes of opponents of High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage (HVPCS, $30 T and above). The first and largest group opposes all Platinum Coin Seigniorage (PCS) of whatever type. The second, opposes HVPCS, but favors using the Trillion Dollar Coin (TDC) for the limited purpose of avoiding the debt ceiling. The third, opposes HVPCS, and doesn’t really favor using the TDC either, except, perhaps, as a last resort to avoid the debt ceiling. It favors an incremental approach to PCS beginning perhaps in the millions or billions in face value, and over a long period of time, after giving people years to adjust to Treasury using platinum coins with unusual, and unprecedented, face values, eventually building up to a TDC. Continue reading →

11 Comments

Posted in Joe Firestone

Tagged #PCS, #TDC, $60 T coin, beowulf, debt ceiling, Fiscal Policy, High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage, HVPCS, MMT, platinum coin seigniorage, Trillion Dollar Coin

Framing Platinum Coin Seigniorage: Part Five, Institutional Objections

Posted on February 3, 2013 by Devin Smith | 8 comments

By Joe Firestone

This series provides a framing document for Platinum Coin Seigniorage (PCS). In the four previous parts of the series, I pointed out that there are three classes of opponents of High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage (HVPCS, $30 T and above). The first and largest group opposes all Platinum Coin Seigniorage (PCS) of whatever type. The second, opposes HVPCS, but favors using the Trillion Dollar Coin (TDC) for the limited purpose of avoiding the debt ceiling. The third, opposes HVPCS, and doesn’t really favor using the TDC either, except, perhaps, as a last resort to avoid the debt ceiling. It favors an incremental approach to PCS beginning perhaps in the millions or billions in face value, and over a long period of time, after giving people years to adjust to Treasury using platinum coins with unusual, and unprecedented, face values, eventually building up to a TDC.

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8 Comments

Posted in Joe Firestone

Tagged #PCS, #TDC, $60 T coin, beowulf, debt ceiling, Ezra Klein, Fiscal Policy, High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage, HVPCS, John Lounsbury, MMT, platinum coin seigniorage, Trillion Dollar Coin, warren mosler

Framing Platinum Coin Seigniorage: Part Four, Political/Economic Objections

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Devin Smith | 13 comments

By Joe Firestone

This series provides a framing document for Platinum Coin Seigniorage (PCS). In the three previous parts of the series, I pointed out that there are three classes of opponents of High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage (HVPCS, $30 T and above). The first and largest group opposes all Platinum Coin Seigniorage (PCS) of whatever type. The second, opposes HVPCS, but favors using the Trillion Dollar Coin (TDC) for the limited purpose of avoiding the debt ceiling. The third, opposes HVPCS, and doesn’t really favor using the TDC either, except, perhaps, as a last resort to avoid the debt ceiling. It favors an incremental approach to PCS beginning perhaps in the millions or billions in face value, and over a long period of time, after giving people years to adjust to Treasury using platinum coins with unusual, and unprecedented, face values, eventually building up to a TDC.

Continue reading →

13 Comments

Posted in Joe Firestone

Tagged #PCS, #TDC, $60 T coin, beowulf, Black Swans, debt ceiling, Fiscal Policy, High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage, HVPCS, MMT, modern money theory, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, platinum coin seigniorage, Trillion Dollar Coin

Fantasy Football, Platinum Futures and the Future of Platinum

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Devin Smith | 29 comments

By Dale Pierce

For the present, all MMT policy advocacy is fantasy football. Everything we talk about is real, and everything we help to prove or explain or demonstrate or clarify is important – and will be much, much more important in the future. And, of course, there’s nothing wrong with fantasy football – it’s a useful exercise for learning about and interpreting the game. Similarly, the extension of theoretical MMT principles to practical problem-solving is a useful – even a vital – exercise. But nothing we advocate today is really going to happen today – at least not in America. I still keep hoping that some high-up political figure in Latin America, or Latvia, or maybe Iceland will come out with an up-front endorsement, along with an explicitly MMT-informed political platform. And I think that’s a worthwhile goal for us as well – provided that we understand just what it is that we are doing.

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29 Comments

Posted in Guest Blogger

Tagged crony capitalism, MMT, Modern Monetary Theory, platinum coin seigniorage

Framing Platinum Coin Seigniorage: Part Three, Political Objections

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Devin Smith | 5 comments

By Joe Firestone

As I pointed out in Part Two of this series, there are three classes of opponents of High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage (HVPCS, $30 T and above). The first and largest group opposes all Platinum Coin Seigniorage (PCS) of whatever type. The second, opposes HVPCS, but favors using the Trillion Dollar Coin (TDC) for the limited purpose of avoiding the debt ceiling. The third, opposes HVPCS, and doesn’t really favor using the TDC either, except, perhaps, as a last resort. It favors an incremental approach to PCS beginning perhaps in the millions or billions in face value, and over a long period of time eventually building up to a TDC.

Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in Joe Firestone

Tagged #PCS, #TDC, $60 T coin, beowulf, debt ceiling, Ezra kelin, Fiscal Policy, High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage, HVPCS, MMT, modern money theory, platinum coin seigniorage, Trillion Dollar Coin

Framing Platinum Coin Seigniorage: Part Two, Legal Objections

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Devin Smith | 8 comments

By Joe Firestone

There are three classes of opponents of High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage (HVPCS, $30 T and above). The first and largest group opposes all PCS of whatever type. The second, opposes HVPCS, but favors using the Trillion Dollar Coin (TDC) for the limited purpose of avoiding the debt ceiling. The third, opposes HVPCS, and doesn’t really favor using the TDC either, except, perhaps, as a last resort.

Continue reading →

8 Comments

Posted in Joe Firestone

Tagged #PCS, #TDC, $60 T coin, beowulf, debt ceiling, Dorf On Law, Fiscal Policy, High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage, HVPCS, MMT, modern money theory, Philip Diehl, platinum coin seigniorage, Trillion Dollar Coin

Framing Platinum Coin Seigniorage: Part One, Basics

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Devin Smith | 58 comments

By Joe Firestone

How many times have you heard that the Government can only spend money after it raises revenue by either taxing or borrowing? Nearly every time someone talks or writes about the US’s public deficit/debt problem? How come nobody asks why, since Congress has the unlimited authority to create coins and currency, it doesn’t just create money when it deficit spends? The short answer is that Congress in 1913, constrained the Executive Branch from creating currency or bank reserves, delegated its power to do that to the Federal Reserve System, and never looked back when we went off the gold standard in 1971, even though this removed the danger of money-creation outrunning gold reserves, and also created a new monetary system based on fiat currency.

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