Congress has the exclusive power to coin money and regulate its value, not the president, according to the US Constitution.
But since all coin and currency is worthless, thanks to Congress, does it really matter anymore?
The thieving Roman emperors infamously diluted the value of coinage from time to time by reducing the amount of gold and silver contained in the coins.
Since we had real money once upon a time, our founders didn't want one man potentially messing with the money, so they put Congress in charge, because they really did think a president could become a tyrant.
But our perfect, holy founders who supposedly thought of everything never anticipated that the Congress itself would become the thieving bastards, the naifs.
The 1913 dollar is now worth three measly cents, but even that Mad King Ludwig will now take away.
If we were a free people, we wouldn't put up with this.
The principle remains, even if the circumstances have changed.
Trump takes aim at ‘wasteful’ government spending by ordering end to penny production
But at least one analyst on Wall Street expects that the penny’s days are numbered. TD Cowen’s Jaret Seiberg said the halt will [be] likely to pass judicial review, leading to a shortage in the coin.
“We believe this order would survive judicial review, which is why this is likely to occur,” Seiberg wrote on Monday. “We worry about this leading to a shortage of pennies, which could force merchants to pay banks more for coins. It also adds legal risk for merchants and banks. That could create the crisis needed to force Congress to act.”
