美国国家公共电台 NPR--Would a trillion dollar coin buy time to resolve the debt ceiling debate?

Would a trillion dollar coin buy time to resolve the debt ceiling debate?

Transcript¹

There's growing concern that Congress might not be able to reach a deal to lift the debt ceiling. But there's a creative, yet unlikely work-around: the trillion dollar coin.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

All right. There is one wild idea for dealing² with the nation's debt ceiling crisis, if it becomes a crisis. It's known as the trillion dollar coin. NPR political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben says this notion is not new.

DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, BYLINE³: The idea leans on a law from the '90s that allows the Treasury⁴ to mint commemorative platinum⁵ coins of any denomination⁶ they want.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

OK, so why not just mint a trillion dollar coin and use it to pay a trillion dollars' worth of debt?

INSKEEP: This idea sounds like a joke. In fact, it has been. The TV series "The Simpsons" once had an episode that played on a similar concept.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE SIMPSONS")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) To make good on this drunken boast, Truman authorized⁷ the one-time printing of the largest denomination currency ever, a trillion dollar bill.

INSKEEP: Our colleague Danielle says this could happen in theory.

KURTZLEBEN: Print a coin worth $1,000,000,000,000. Then the Treasury deposits the coin at the Fed and, poof, then there's money to keep paying the bills.

MART?NEZ: Now, there is one problem. The U.S. would mint the coin in order to avoid chaos⁸, but doing it would cause some chaos.

KURTZLEBEN: If you minted that coin, you could be dragging the Fed into a political fight, which is exactly where the Fed doesn't like to be.

INSKEEP: There are also potential economic problems, according to Moody's Analytics chief economist⁹ Mark Zandi.

MARK ZANDI: So you own a 10-year bond. You're watching these machinations, gimmicks¹⁰ and legal challenges, and you're saying to yourself, there's a pretty good chance I'm not going to get paid at some point in the next 10 years. Therefore, you got to pay me more to take this risk, or I'm just out of here.

MART?NEZ: Investors¹¹ would demand higher yields or interest rates on U.S. government bonds.

INSKEEP: This may explain why the United States has rejected the trillion dollar coin in the past. Maybe Homer Simpson said it best.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE SIMPSONS")

DAN CASTELLANETA: (As Homer Simpson) Ooh, a trillion dollar bill. That's a spicy¹² meatball.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

5 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

6 denomination   

n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位

参考例句：

• The firm is still operating under another denomination.这家公司改用了名称仍在继续营业。
• Litre is a metric denomination.升是公制单位。

7 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

8 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

9 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

10 gimmicks   

n.花招，诡计，骗人的玩意儿( gimmick的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Financial institutions are also often expected yield of gimmicks. 金融机构也往往以预期收益率为噱头。 来自互联网
• However these are just marketing gimmicks that propagate the myth. 然而这些只是噱头的营销传播的神话。 来自互联网

11 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

12 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。