There is a lot of loose talk out there about the legal status of the Trillion Dollar Coin idea. Let’s go to the statute books.

Mint the Coin has drawn a whole lot of fevered discussion, but Joe Wiesenthal (@theStalwart) has perhaps the best take: the project opens the door to a real discussion of money, its origins and its purposes. The idea of just minting a coin with a huge designated value does sound strange to those of us whose economics came out of Paul Samuelson’s textbook. Here’s a possible explanation* for the discomfort. And if you think it sounds strange, just think how it sounds to the Ron Pauls of the world.