(January 31, 2013) — Over the past few months, there has been a new idea circulating the Internet about a “trillion dollar coin” and how it will save the U.S. from debt and help turn the economy back around. But what is a trillion dollar coin? And why is it so important to understand now of all times? Let’s take a quick history lesson. Now, as our country is facing a fiscal cliff, the debt that the U.S. Government owes is a bit past $16 trillion, and it’s increasing by about $4 billion every day, according to the U.S. National Debt Clock. With that much debt, the U.S. Government needs to pay off its loans to other countries so that it keeps its slate as clean as possible in terms of paying their dues. The problem here is that the U.S. has a debt ceiling, which is a limit to how much money the government can have and use. Normally, in order to pay its debts, Congress often raises the debt ceiling so that the U.S. can pay off its debts. Recently, however, there has been a stalemate in Congress about the debt ceiling. Some Republicans are stating that they will not raise the debt ceiling for the U.S. If the debt ceiling is not raised, then the U.S. may have to default on its payments. So, if Congress will not raise the debt ceiling, then how can the U.S. tackle the debt problem? A Dec. 2009 Wall Street Journal article discussed how clever travelers used U.S. commemorative coins to accumulate flier miles by simply purchasing them online. This inspired a Georgian lawyer known only as “Beowulf” to suggest the idea of a trillion dollar coin. How does the trillion dollar coin idea work? “Beowulf” brought to light the fact that the U.S. Treasury can only mint coins, with a limit on each type of coin. The platinum coin, though, has no limit on its value or amount minted for commemorative reasons (if the U.S. Treasury wanted to create a commemorative platinum coin with a certain value). “Beowulf” suggested that, since the platinum coin can be minted with any monetary value, the U.S. Treasury can mint multiple platinum coins with values at a trillion dollars and deposit that amount into the national reserve. Because the U.S. Treasury has minted the money, it is debt free, so the Treasury can use this trick to deposit money into the national reserve in order to pay off their debt. Now this solution does come with its share of naysayers. People against this idea argue that it can cause inflation and lower the value of the dollar. However, supporters of the trillion dollar coin argue that every instance of hyperinflation has been due to foreign debt collapsing the value of the dollar and that hyperinflation cannot be caused by domestic spending. This trillion dollar coin idea also brings up a different topic to the limelight for discussion: the issuing of money by banks. Since the beginning of the U.S. Government, private banks have issued most of the money that circulates in the economy, with the U.S. Treasury being limited to only coins. With a trillion dollar coin in circulation, the idea of the government having more power over circulating money may be up for discussion. In general, the trillion dollar coin idea seems interesting at the very least, and I believe Congress should at least consider the idea. With our economy faltering the way it is now, Congress needs to come up with something to restore our economy. If they continue to remain inactive, we may fall into another depression. Right now, the trillion dollar coin just may be our ticket out of this recession and far away from another depression.