Josh Marshall is a pretty savvy guy. He thinks neither the 14th Amendment nor the platinum coin can serve as a viable way out.
Nor any trick like that.
An explanation of why, below the fold.
The idea is that it's the contestible nature itself of these resolutions that's the problem, rather than the details of their technical validity. The fact that we have to debate the details of the technical validity of a US bond issue would be a catastrophe in itself, whatever the outcome of that debate.
Securities are worth what people think they're worth. The fact that one of two major parties in the US announces its willingness -- eagerness-- to declare US bonds to be illegally issued, lowers their value, even if that party is temporarily thwarted by technical tricks in its desire to repudiate lawfully issued debt.
In politics, they say, if you're explaining, you're losing.
And in economics, if you're explaining that your country's debt is worth 100 cents on the dollar no matter what the opposition party claims... then it isn't worth 100 cents on the dollar.
Not anymore.
It's already worth less than that.
Maybe a whole lot less.
I cannot tell whether JMM is right that this will be a sufficiently major issue as to neutralize the $1T coin and 14th Amendment options. But if he's right, the country is in major trouble with no way out.
What do you think?