Peter's Blog

Eisenhower and the Threat of Military Overreach

In a timeless and ominously prophetic speech, Eisenhower left the nation after his eight years in office with a warning that no one at the time understood the significance of. Although Eisenhower had been at the very heart of America’s military might during World War II, he believed that what he and other American Americans […]

The Many Costs of Public Control of Water Rights

Although water rights are often used as the poster child of the need for government intervention, the private market actually presents many compelling solutions for their allocation. State control of water rights, while compelling, actually presents many unseen costs and damages the efficient allocation of one of the necessities of life. Clear ownership frameworks and […]

War Is On, Oil is Up, Inflation is Coming

Wars always expose economic weaknesses that already exist. And now, as old patterns repeat themselves, we’re seeing higher energy prices, larger government deficits, and rising inflation catalyzed by the US campaign against Iran. The developing situation inIran has already sent shockwaves through global energy markets, pushing oil prices sharply higher and reigniting fears of inflation. […]

The State and the Death of The Small Town

In 1800, only 5% of the American population lived in cities, yet by 2020 that proportion had flipped dramatically and now only 20% live outside of them. This is not a result of mere preference or expediency, but rather a long process of natural momentum accelerated by regulatory overreach. Vast increases in agricultural productivity and […]

3 Regulatory Categories in Financial Innovation

As regulation seeks to enclose the rapidly expanding financial services sector, the freedom found in innovation proves that success for customer and business alike can be found best far from restrictive regulations. While regulation often inherently favors the businesses that already exist, regulators also try to keep up with recent business trends to prevent fraud, […]

The Deadly Tradeoff Between Learning and Safety

Although learning things the hard way is often seen as a benchmark of failure, it often might be the only way to learn. Particularly in situations of first time discovery, repeated failure is all but necessary to produce a meaningful new outcome. Learning things the hard way should only be seen as failure when one […]

CPI Stubbornly Resists 2% Goal; Gold Brushes $5,180 

Inflation’s embers refused to cool in February, with the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers edging 0.3 percent higher after January’s 0.2 percent bump. Headline prices now stand 2.4 percent above year-ago levels, still north of the Federal Reserve’s vaunted 2 percent target. Core inflation, which strips out the volatile food and energy categories […]

The Incentives Behind Our Perpetual Debt

It is no secret that the US Federal Government has great difficulty getting out of and staying out of debt. Whether the State even possesses the power or willpower to get out of debt is not even asked, as Keynesian principles have lionized debt and removed the historical stigma. Things that would not be seen […]

BLS: Payrolls Crater in Latest Jobs Report

The U.S. labor market took an unexpected step backward in February, shedding 92,000 non-farm payroll jobs after a modest 126,000 gain in January, according to Friday’s Employment Situation release. Headline unemployment barely budged at 4.4 percent, yet 7.6 million Americans remain officially out of work and an increasing share of them are looking for jobs […]

CB Consumer Confidence: Americans Still Eye Price Pressures

U.S. consumers perked up a bit in February, but the mood is hardly euphoric. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index rose 2.2 points to 91.2, recouping only a slice of January’s slide. Households feel slightly less threatened by recession, yet they remain uneasy about paychecks, persistent inflation, and a job market that looks sturdy on […]