Mint the Coin

As you probably know, sometime in late February or early March the government’s authority to borrow money will run out, rendering the Treasury unable to pay everyone all the money they’re owed. Conservatives have vowed to use this leverage to force the president to agree to spending cuts he wouldn’t otherwise sign, a replay of a move they pulled off in 2011. Already Republicans such as Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) are trying to lay the groundwork by describing an exhaustion of borrowing authority as a kind of government shutdown rather than what it really is, a congressionally-induced default on legally valid claims Congress has already enacted. There are several potential ways to avert catastrophe. My Slate colleague Eric Posner, for example, insists that the president has the authority to raise the debt ceiling unilaterally. And even if he doesn’t, a ludicrous but perfectly legal...