$1.2 trillion platinum coin idea has little currency at White House

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - The White House on Wednesday sees little profit in the notion of minting a US$1 trillion (S$1.2 trillion) platinum coin as an escape hatch to avoid a debt default if Congress balks at raising the US debt limit.

With another standoff with Congress over raising the debt ceiling looming as early as mid-February, a petition on the White House website asks the administration to create a single platinum coin worth US$1 trillion to avoid a stalemate over lifting the borrowing cap. The petition has garnered more than 7,100 signatures.

An asset of that value would place the United States well within its US$16.4 trillion borrowing limits, the argument goes.

Pressed to rule out the idea, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney on Wednesday passed the buck.