With the federal government partly shut down and the footsteps of the debt ceiling clomping closer, the search is on for worst-case, last-gasp, what-if-we-have-to-ram-the-asteroid solutions. The latest of these is the â??Presidential bond,â? a.k.a. the â??Obama bond,â? a.k.a. this yearâ??s answer to 2011â?²s trillion-dollar coin.
This is a bond issued by the president unilaterally, without congressional authorization, to make sure the U.S. doesnâ??t default on its debt. The problem with this bond is that the president doesnâ??t have the authority to issue bonds without Congress, which is why weâ??re looking ahead to a debt ceiling showdown in the first place.
Read Full Article »