Peter's Blog

The Real Minimum Wage Is Always Zero

The real minimum wage is always zero. Restaurant workers in California are about to find that out the hard way.

The Christmas Gift That Keeps on Taking

Two days before Christmas in 1913, Woodrow Wilson gave the United States a Christmas gift that keeps taking. On that day, he signed the Federal Reserve Act into law, creating the US central bank. Since that inauspicious day, the US dollar has lost 96% of its value.

Bank Bailout Program Balance Surges Again in December

What’s going on with US banks? Over the last month, loans outstanding in the Federal Reserve bank bailout program increased by $17.24 billion. It was the second month we’ve seen borrowing from the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) surge. And the pace of borrowing is increasing.

(Mis) Remembering a Christmas Classic!

Would you rather have silver and gold? Or would you rather have peppermint? You might be under the impression Yukon Cornelius of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer fame was after riches of silver and gold. He wasn’t. I mean, I hate to mess with your Christmas memories, but facts are facts.

The World Is Sitting on a Powder Keg of Debt

The Federal Reserve recently surrendered in its inflation fight. But price inflation is nowhere near the 2% target. Why did the Fed raise the white flag prematurely? One of the major reasons is debt. The world is buried under record debt levels and the global economy can’t function in a high interest rate environment.

Biden Administration Runs Record November Budget Deficit

The Biden administration just ran the largest November budget deficit in history. And it managed this feat even with a 9% increase in government receipts.

The Fed Surrenders to Inflation!

The Federal Reserve just surrendered to inflation. Fed officials won’t call it a surrender. They’re claiming victory. But surrender is the effect of the policy trajectory laid out by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) at its December meeting.

Inflation in Real Life Much Worse Than in Government Fantasy World

Inflation is dead! At least that’s what you would think if you listen to government officials and talking heads in the financial media. So, how is this victory over inflation working out for the average person? Not so great.

Plenty of Hype for a So-So CPI Report

Why do virtually all the mainstream pundits think the Federal Reserve has won the inflation fight? Maybe it’s just wishful thinking. They want the Fed to win so it can go back to what it does best – creating more inflation with artificially low interest rates and quantitative easing. Regardless, most of the mainstream punditry […]

Consumer Borrowing Slows; Is the “Resilient” American Consumer Running Out of Gas?

The “resilient” American consumer seems to be running out of gas. Americans are still running up credit card debt but at a much slower pace. Meanwhile, borrowing for big-ticket items has cratered. Total consumer debt rose by $5.2 billion in October, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve. That was a relatively small […]