Note to CNBC’s Larry Kudlow: Burning money is against the law.
Note to CNBC’s Larry Kudlow: Burning money is against the law.
Earlier today on CNBC, host Larry Kudlow introduced a segment on the government’s new Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility by lighting a dollar bill on fire. Kudlow said that the program — which is aimed at energizing “the asset-backed securities market that effectively subsidizes loans to consumers and businesses” — would result in “a lot of people lighting flame to the U.S. dollar which is going down in flames.” “No one is thinking about it, no one is worrying about it, it’s going down in flames,” he said. Watch it:
While Kudlow and his co-hosts seemed to enjoy their on-air gimmick, they apparently forgot that U.S. currency is protected by federal law. Indeed, were Kudlow to be convicted of defacing the dollar he’d be eligible for up to six months in prison:
§ 333. Mutilation of national bank obligations.
Whoever mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures, or perforates, or unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, or Federal Reserve bank, or the Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
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What.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:46 pmAn.
Idiot.
While Kudlow and his co-hosts seemed to enjoy their on-air gimmick, they apparently forgot that the U.S. currency is protected by federal law.
– - I get a kick out of watching multi-millionaires like Kudlow groveling in populist personas.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:48 pmThese CNBC guys sure like to incriminate themselves on tape.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:53 pmArrest him.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:53 pmOops.
Well, he blew it out. Must have SOME value still left.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:53 pmIf he’s eligible for up to ten years in prison, the why does the statute say “imprisoned not more than six months”? Or did I miss something?
March 19th, 2009 at 3:53 pmSomebody call the police and arrest him. The man is an idiot.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:54 pmIt is so true burning US currency is a violation of the Law and subject to arrest and conviction. It suprised me as I learned the coode violation while taking accounting in College. Now I did remember the flag burning but it shocked me to learn we can’t burn US currency. CNBC Kudlow could and should be charged as it will leave others to do the same in the future if nothing is done.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:58 pmDoes writing on bills then stapling them to a wall count? Cause I know of a few bars that could get a whole lotta people in trouble.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:01 pmI see CNBC is getting back to rolling up its sleaves and making news with hard-hitting, investigative journalism.
http://www.pufferfishblog.com/
March 19th, 2009 at 4:07 pmThat’s not his money. It’s ours. Burn away.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:07 pmI don’t think writing on the bill and stapling it to a wall is unlawful unless it makes the bill no longer useable as currency. Burning certainly makes the bill unusable.
Someone wiser than myself once told me never take a picture of yourself doing something illegal.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:09 pmComedy Central??? NOT
March 19th, 2009 at 4:10 pmWhy didn’t he get upset when the bush/cheney administration effectively drove the value of the dollar into the tank?
March 19th, 2009 at 4:12 pmHowdy, all – long time, no see! ;o) I’m once again gainfully employed (3 weeks now), and I’ve been much too busy to post.
I see the idiots are still up to their usual idiocy. Some things never change, eh?
~A
March 19th, 2009 at 4:14 pmRemember when W was autographing American flags…?
These people have no respect for anything.
Party first!
March 19th, 2009 at 4:14 pmsorry for the error IgnoranceIsNotBliss, fixed it above!
March 19th, 2009 at 4:14 pmYup, Jon Stewart sure was the IDIOT, right? CNBC is GREAT at reporting financial news! LOL
March 19th, 2009 at 4:16 pmSix months of No Kudlow! Deal. Prosecute, convict, incarcerate.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:17 pmThe airwaves will be that much cleaner for half a year.
OK, I admit it’s kind of funny that a network that’s supposed to be some kind of authority on money would be ignorant of this fact. But can we look at the reasoning behind such a law?
I am assuming the reason we can’t burn currency is because the amount of currency in circulation is controlled. And if we go around burning and destroying it, that control gets all messed up.
Makes sense. By controlling the amount of money in the system, its worth is protected. IF currency and coins were the only way of expressing money.
I think of how many financial transactions I make without even touching cash. My paycheck, my bills, and almost all of my purchases are handled by plastic card or electronic transfer. On my last trip to Las Vegas, I noticed that I can now even gamble in a completely cash-free environment. Therefore, I can only surmise that currency is becoming more and more irrelevant, and that controlling the amount of it won’t do anything meaningful to control inflation (well, OK — printing gobs of it probably still will, but burning it won’t).
This law seems a bit antiquated. I doubt anyone would want to enforce it enough to risk looking ridiculous.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:17 pmJust where do they pick up these ignorant people for CNBC? These people are the bottom of the barrel.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:19 pmThat would be too funny if Kudlow was arrested!
March 19th, 2009 at 4:20 pmMissHMolly! You raise and interesting point. If my Quicken program is on my computer, and it burns up, am I in trouble?
March 19th, 2009 at 4:20 pmStupid, rich morons.
Kudlow is a multi-millionaire, yet he grandstands with the stupid play of the week and breaks federal law to make an over-the-top point about the economy – for which he has been a pimp for years.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:21 pmThis is just a case of pushing the envelope.
If you want to make it into the media nowadays, you gotta have spunk! You gotta push the law as far as it can go! If that means reporting from jail, so be it!
I hope this means we get the Guy-With-An-@ss-For-A-Face cohost back.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:22 pmI almost did hard time as a 9 yr old because I put pennies on the railroad tracks. The cops hauled my scared skinny butt down to the cop shop and had a heck of a good time impressing the idea into my head that defacing US currency was a federal offense.
Could they just rattle his cage a bit?
March 19th, 2009 at 4:26 pm.
From trackdollarbills.com
http://www.trackdollarbills.com/blog/2008/12/21/what-happens-to-defaced-currency/?7656b880
March 19th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
.
Q U E S T I O N
Did burning the bill, as it was done and to the extent it was done, render it unfit to be reissued?
.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:32 pmFirst we had Cramer throwing Bulls between his legs & screaming.
Now we have Kudlow burning dollar bills.
Yup, CNBC is still the leader in comedy & assclowns.
What? They’re a respected financial information source?
Hoodathunk?
March 19th, 2009 at 4:40 pmKudlow is a fruitcake who is nothing more than a republican hack and tool. This clown thinks he is going to be the next senator from Connecticut……he’s a drug addicted coke head, alcoholic who got canned for all of his antics, certainly sets off any sane person’s gaydar and is obnoxious.
I wish they would cancel his contract but CNBC has nothing but professional liars on all day long.
Go away Larry…….oh, and another thing Lar, Ronald Reagan is dead and his great plans didn’t work out too well did they.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:40 pmWhat about the machines for taking pennies and pressing them down with an imprint of vacation attractions ?
March 19th, 2009 at 4:49 pmThere are actually people out on the streets right now that would love to have that charred dollar.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:17 pmWhat? What did I do now, zimzone?
March 19th, 2009 at 5:19 pm.
That burned dollar will still buy a latte at Starbucks…
… It has not been rendered unfit for reissue.
.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:31 pmZooey Says:
What.
An.
Idiot.
He may well be, but if you expect he’s going to suffer any consequences, I have a bridge here I’d like to sell you…
March 19th, 2009 at 6:04 pmJosh – you’re off on this one.
Read the law you quoted.
It is NOT illegal to DESTROY currency. So while stamping wheresgeorge.com (mutilation, defacement or disfigurement) on a dollar bill IS a technical violation of the law, burning a dollar bill or putting a penny into one of those machines that squooshes it into a souvenir medallion is NOT.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:06 pmBook ‘em, Dano.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:16 pmWell..someone has money to burn. What a disrespectful and arrogant ass!!
March 19th, 2009 at 6:18 pmOh come on… Its not like the Fed can’t print trillions more
March 19th, 2009 at 6:32 pmI think Kudlow sits on the board of a publicly traded mutual fund. Isn’t that a conflict of interest to even be on CNBC? Just asking.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:14 pmLeftside Annie Says:
It’s noticeable when a regular and smart contributor is missing.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:30 pmCongrats on the new job!
Hope it all works out for you.
Typical stupid RepubliCon, like the Criminal Bush, he commits the crime in plain sight. We live in a criminal nation, because like the Criminal Bush, no police or prosecutors willing to enfore the law. No Congress willing to enforce the Constitution.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:54 pmIt was worth wasting a dollar to see that chick blowin’ on it.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:07 pmNo need to worry, that was a color copy of a dollar bill. No crime in burning a counterfeit bill, on the other hand…
March 19th, 2009 at 10:26 pmKulow has made an impression on me. Save wallstreet with Federal bailouts is like burning money. He did it perfect!
March 19th, 2009 at 10:44 pmBurning a dollar bill in the studio probably doesn’t only concern the Treasury Department — what about the local fire code?
March 20th, 2009 at 12:04 amHoodathunk Says
March 19th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
I almost did hard time as a 9 yr old because I put pennies on the railroad tracks. The cops hauled my scared skinny butt down to the cop shop and had a heck of a good time impressing the idea into my head that defacing US currency was a federal offense.
___________________________________________________________
Hmmm…what about those machines in tourist traps where you insert a penny and the machine presses it into some kind of souvenir of the place you’re visiting? The Secret Service needs to get on this right away.
March 20th, 2009 at 12:08 amHoodathunk,
The penny on a track is an urban legend.
However, kids getting hit by trains because of playing on the tracks is a life changer.
… Booo!
March 20th, 2009 at 3:46 am