Paying The Bills Without Minting Exotic Coins

I've never heard any really good legal arguments against the platinum coin option, but if the president wants to do something that doesn't quite sound as silly what Paul Krugman calls "moral obligation coupons" can be easily made to work. Krugman suggests selling such coupons, but I think it makes more sense to just use them. The point, after all, is that the government is legally obliged to pay Social Security benefits. It is legally required to keep making grant payments to state governments. It has no choice but to pay soldiers' salaries and to pay defense contractors for the work they perform. Doctors and hospitals are legally entitled to be paid for treating elderly patients. So if the Treasury Department can't get its hands on the dollars it needs to pay the bills it's legally required to pay, it should just issue IOUs to institutional creditors. Pay Social Security bene...