Peter's Blog

Why Warsh Wants to Ignore Inflation’s Real Cost

As Kevin Warsh takes over as Fed chair, his stated preference for narrower, trimmed inflation measures is drawing scrutiny, and for good reason. Though it is technically correct that government-driven price hikes from wars, lockdowns, and years of interventionist policy are not “inflation” in the strict monetary sense, Warsh’s push to exclude them from the […]

Inflation Pops to 4.2%, Energy Fuels Surge 

Inflation’s embers flared again in May, dashing hopes that last year’s price scare was fading. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.5 percent for the month, lifting the headline rate to 4.2 percent year-over-year and marking a second straight acceleration. Energy was the chief culprit, and the renewed heat pushed safe-haven […]

As Inflation Keeps Rising, Americans Have No Savings

American households are plummeting to razor-thin financial margins as the personal savings rate falls to numbers last seen before COVID.  Personal savings fell from around 4.3% of disposable income in January to just over 2.5% in April, all as the cost of living continues to climb. Americans are drawing down reserves to cover groceries, housing, […]

Are Entrepreneurship and Speculation Different?

In popular culture, entrepreneurs are often praised and speculators are to be shamed. They are seen as fundamentally different classes of individuals. An entrepreneur is described as someone who creates something and actually cares about their mission. A speculator seen as someone who shifts around between different industries for only the goal of financial reward. […]

The Inherent Incentives Against Economic Localism

One of the central ideas of Austrian economics is that local knowledge cannot be encapsulated and transported into a different situation; however, relevant information can be transported within the price system. This insight suggests that only individuals will have the best information regarding their lives, and that only towns will have the best information regarding […]

Peter Schiff: Inflation Comes From Washington

In Friday’s episode of The Peter Schiff Show, Peter connects the dots between Washington’s fiscal choices, Federal Reserve policy, and the asset bubbles those choices create. He covers inflation’s true drivers, the hidden costs of today’s tech buildout, why Bitcoin is vulnerable, and why gold and silver remain the prudent hedge for savers. He closes […]

Can Consumption Create Wealth?

Most Americans are familiar with the Keynesian idea that government spending and money creation can stimulate a sluggish economy by boosting demand. What those not versed in Austrian economics may not appreciate is that this framework gets the causal order exactly backwards: production must come before consumption, and genuine demand can only arise from prior […]

How Monetary Policy Punishes Saving

For generations, the wisdom passed down at kitchen tables was simple: spend less than you earn, save patiently, and let time do its quiet work. That world has been inverted. For over two decades, the Federal Reserve has systematically penalized savers through artificially low interest rates and persistent inflation, undermining the concepts of sufficiency and […]

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 […]

Schiff w/ Joy: Inflation Is Winning

Last week Peter joined Shannon Joy on her podcast to warn listeners that runaway government spending and a corrupting alliance between state and corporate power are eating away at living standards. He connects collapsing consumer confidence, rising interest rates, and a political media culture that shields power to make the case that savers need sound […]