Peter's Blog

AI isn’t Changing Anything

Whether one is a fan or a foe of AI, almost everyone believes in its incredible world changing power. What I’m about to tell you might be a shock, but AI will not fundamentally change the way the world works. While it does have some unique capabilities, it is far from the panacea that most […]

Stablecoins Miss the Mark

Although most stablecoins are touted as the next step for currency and a needed player in financial innovation, they have several fundamental flaws that make them even less suitable than the American dollar. Stablecoins are electronic currencies tied to USD, and in most situations, stay within a few percent of the dollar’s value. While historically […]

The Unique Relationship Between the Defense Industry and Innovation

For decades, the military and industrial complex has stood as a reminder of Federal power and waste, with a system of contracts and research methods that seem almost inherently expensive and slow. While the defense industry increased spending, and used funding inefficiently, most people in the latter half of the 20th century still accepted the […]

Payments Tech Undermines Core Purposes of Money

Modern payments technology simultaneously shows the beauty of technology as well as its fragility. Through compression of information and allowing for lower data use when transactions are being made, they are able to allow transactions to occur more fluidly and they let the underlying currency fulfill its role as a medium of exchange more effectively. […]

Propping Up the Yen, Again and Again

Can Japan just keep propping up the yen forever?  At a certain point, Japan won’t be able to just keep dumping dollars and Treasuries to prevent its currency from imploding.  With an economy so sensitive to rate hikes after decades of zero-interest rate policy, the Bank of Japan can’t endlessly jack up the cost of […]

Historic Red Retirement Rates

Before the upcoming midterm elections, a record number of incumbent House Republicans are set to retire. Historical data suggests that this is going to make it extremely difficult for Republicans to hold onto the House. When a large number of incumbents retire or do not seek office, it is very difficult to gain lost ground […]

One Size Fits One

Life is infinitely divisible. It is impossible to break a situation down to its most fundamental level. The infinite complexity of the world means that we only run out of information when we stop asking questions. Physically, we proceed from molecules to atoms to quarks and particles, and finally to the intersection of energy and […]

Tocqueville and Overreach

Alexis de Tocqueville warned us of the dangers of paternalistic government in no uncertain terms. He visited America and was able to see the unique strengths and weaknesses of our Democratic system. He saw how much of our activity was controlled by the community, and the unique freedom that was possible in our country. While […]

The One Type of Person at the Heart of the Fed

The current Federal reserve board chairman and his successor share a very specific trajectory. They both went to an Ivy League for undergrad, got elite law degrees, went into the banking industry, and then transitioned to the public sphere. Their specific path should not be surprising to anyone, but we must critically ask whether people […]

Why Hasn’t the Iran War Pushed Gold Even Higher?

Gold prices reached record highs in early 2026 following an epic 2025, fueled by central bank buying, inflation concerns, and demand for assets outside traditional finance. Since then, gold has pulled back significantly. Conditions created by the US-Iran war that began last February have contributed to this correction, but why?  While gold is usually pumped […]