Peter's Blog

US Government Borrows $800B in 3 months

Current Trends The US government has borrowed over $800B in the last three months. This is a gargantuan sum of money that annualizes to ~$3.2T. This is an astonishing amount of money given the economy is not technically in recession. If there is an even a minor bump in the economy, the government spending will […]

Why We Keep Falling for War

Wars are consistently sold to the public on false or misleading pretexts, and the true beneficiaries are rarely the citizens asked to fight and pay for them but the politicians, financiers, and military-industrial interests who profit regardless of outcome. Statist ideology and nationalism condition people to accept these sacrifices, obscuring the reality that the state’s […]

Fed’s Cook Says Inflation “Too High” as Gold Surges Past $4,250

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook delivered a familiar warning in a speech in Anchorage on August 5th: price pressures remain stubborn. Citing a 3.7 percent annual rise in the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index through June, Cook said flatly, “Inflation is too high.” Core PCE, which strips out food and energy, is running at […]

Why Socialism Prioritizes Control Over Prosperity

Socialists rarely abandon their ideology no matter how badly socialist economies perform, and that persistence makes sense once the goal is understood as the establishment of state control rather than genuine prosperity. Even the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ongoing crisis in Venezuela have failed to move true believers, who simply argue that […]

JOLTS Stalls Again as Gold Hovers Above $4,000

The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed little movement across the major measures. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that job openings were “little changed” at 7.4 million in June 2026, a 4.4 percent openings rate that has barely budged for months. Hiring held at 5.3 million, while total separations stayed near […]

BOJ Sees Inflation Holding Above Target, Signals Further Tightening

The Bank of Japan’s Policy Board concluded its July 30-31, 2026 meeting with a fresh “Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices” that keeps inflation in focus. While the Bank raised its fiscal 2026 growth estimate slightly to a median 0.6 percent, it still expects consumer prices (all items less fresh food) to climb a median […]

Washington Joins Tokyo in Rare Yen Intervention; Gold Gains on Currency Uncertainty

In an unexpected echo of the 1990s, the U.S. Treasury on July 31st directed the New York Fed to sell euros and purchase Japanese yen, marking the first outright yen-buying intervention by the United States since 1998. Tokyo’s Ministry of Finance had already entered the market earlier that day, and Washington’s involvement turned the move […]

Income Rises, Saving Falls, Gold Holds Above $4,100

Americans earned more in June yet saved less, according to the latest Personal Income and Outlays report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal income rose 0.2 percent, or $54.9 billion, while disposable personal income (DPI) increased at the same pace. Consumers did not retain the additional income for long: personal consumption expenditures (PCE) rose […]

The Democratic Socialist Roots of California’s Housing Crisis

California’s housing shortage did not emerge from free markets failing, but from decades of policy that let neighborhood groups and environmental regulators substitute their preferences for property owners’ rights to build. Discretionary permitting, CEQA lawsuits, and a no-growth ideology born from the 1960s effectively socialized private property, and sky-high home prices in cities like San […]

Consumer Confidence Declines Again; Gold Over $4,000

U.S. households grew more pessimistic in July, according to the latest data from the Conference Board, and investors responded by sending gold to yet another record. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell 1.4 points to 90.8 (1985=100), down from an upwardly revised 92.2 in June and continuing a decline that has persisted since late […]