This is Not a Comedy
Let’s make a deal, like, right now… cuts and an extension to 2014?
"With $90 billion worth of U.S. bonds due for redemption on Thursday, August 4, there is a chance if they go unpaid that those holding them will face a 100 percent loss unless investors are willing to let them roll over, according to Weinberg.
About $540 billion of debt mandates some kind of payment in every bimonthly cycle, and the August 15 payment will likely be a big one because it is the month of the Treasury’s quarterly funding exercise," said Weinberg. (Source)
The Platinum Coin
Sovereign governments such as the United States can print new money. However, there’s a statutory limit to the amount of paper currency that can be in circulation at any one time. Ironically, there’s no similar limit on the amount of coinage. A little-known statute gives the secretary of the Treasury the authority to issue platinum coins in any denomination. So some commentators have suggested that the Treasury create two $1 trillion coins, deposit them in its account in the Federal Reserve and write checks on the proceeds.
Reinventing the Shipping Container Part 9
If you are interested in containers, read ribbonfarm’s discussion of The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger, by Marc Levinson here.