Peter's Blog

The Fed Holds Rates at 4.5% Amid Rising Risks of Stagflation

As of last week, the Federal Reserve has basically admitted it doesn’t know what’s happening in the economy. One thing’s for sure: inflation is still a problem.

The Political Business Cycle, 50 Years On

With the Fed utterly clueless about inflation and GDP ticking lower, the Trump administration may be in trouble come midterms. As political narratives start to spin up, it’s worth recalling the nature of the so-called “Political Business Cycle.”

Free Trade: A Moral Imperative

The Trump administration is anything but the paragon of free trade. And while their economic arguments fall short, an even stronger case can be made that protectionist policies like tariffs are fundamentally unjust.

Cracked Shells: How Supply Shocks, Not Monopoly, Drive Egg Prices

Are rising egg prices a result of monopoly power? As of late, egg prices are taking a central role in the economic narrative with focus groups, and economists decreeing monopolistic “greed” as the prime cause of a sudden upturn in prices. Yet, this must be insufficient to establish why producers’ have—all of a sudden—become immensely […]

The Cracks in Marx’s Labor Theory of Value

Free-marketers must be constantly vigilant in an age of economic fallacies, chief among them being the labor or cost theory of value. Promoted by Marx and the Classical Economists, this theory fails to explain market prices and the origin of money, and the results of its acceptance are catastrophic.

Trump’s Easy-Money Agenda: Empowering Wall Street, Undermining Main Street

Although Jerome Powell appears temporarily safe from President Trump’s ire, it’s only a matter of time before the pressure to cut rates will ratchet up on the Fed. Indeed, Trump– like all other politicians– wants low interest rates to facilitate ever-increasing deficits and obscure the faultlines in the economy.

Insane… Trump’s Tariff Policy

As each day follows “Liberation Day,” the Trump administration’s justifications for tariffs continue to fall. All that remains are economic fallacies and the continuing concentration of power in the executive.

Stop Deficit Spending—Debt Reduction Follows Naturally

All libertarians agree: federal budget deficits must come to an end. But what comes after a balanced budget? How should libertarians handle the national debt?

GDP’s Hidden Flaws: How Spending Metrics Distort Economic Reality

As warning signs of recession grow, the political class will increasingly point to misleading statistics as proof of their competency. The most popular economic aggregate, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is worth nuancing.

Foreign Investment—Boon or Bane for America’s Economy?

In the aftermath of “Liberation Day,” it’s clear America is suffering from a resurgence of protectionism. As policymakers like Peter Navarro increasingly have the public’s ear, it’s necessary to dispel their fallacious reasoning.