Felix Salmon: "Coin seignorage, if you're wondering, is the right that Treasury has to mint a couple of one-ounce, $1 trillion coins and deposit those coins in its account at the New York Fed. It could then withdraw cash from that Fed account to make all the payments it wanted."

I like it. Currency hacking.

 7/15/2011; 5:10:24 PM.   .

AndI am not an economist, but I do have savings and invest in the stock market, and have a bit of education, and I read a lot, so I have a little knowledge of how things work.

So when Merrill Mathews, writing at Forbes, asks what happened to the $2.6 trillion Social Security Trust Fund, I know the answer, and so does he.

He says the US government "borrowed" it, as if there were something wrong with that. But there is another, more understandable way of saying the same thing:

1. They bought T-bills so it could earn a little interest.

Both statements are equivalent.

You see Mr Matthews, until the Republicans came along and played house with the world economy, the safest place to put your money was in US govt securities. It's exactly where you would want the government to store our nation's retirement money. You think it would be safer to keep it under the mattress or perhaps in Fort Knox?

that highlights one of many new problems we are rapidly coming to grips with. If not US govt securities, where should we put the money we don't want to put at risk? You guys are supposed to be such capitalists over there at Forbes, how about cutting the hysteria, and start talking to your readers like the adults they are.

One more note...

I read a bunch of "right wing" columnists, and once in a while one of them has something to say that isn't completely childish and dishonest.

Example: Megan McCardle, writing in the Atlantic, suggests the Republicans in the House pass a 9 month extension of the debt ceiling and dare the President to veto it.

He won't.

Then the Republicans get to do this all over again next spring, during the Presidential election. With nine months to lick their wounds, play Monday Morning Quarterback, and get ready for next season in the grand game of Destroy the United States of America.

Bonus: Felix Salmon has a must-read piece at Reuters.

 7/15/2011; 7:17:24 AM.   .