Peter's Blog

50 of the 75 largest US cities are currently operating with budget deficits. While 100% of American Federal Governments are operating with a budget deficit, the Federal Government faces constant scrutiny, but these cities avoid scrutiny even while in close proximity to the communities they overspend for. It would be far easier for people to […]

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 […]

While constantly predicting the inevitable decline of the dollar and the governmentally-entwined systems of commerce that our society is centered around is not often a joyful job, there are still some things that should give you hope for the state of our country and the world. SchiffGold is so often focused on the negatives because […]

People on the right and left are quick to complain that they are being taken advantage of by other groups. The raucous cries of victimhood never cease, whether targeted towards the influx of illegal immigrants or the cabal of billionaires. The victimhood is primarily of resources. People are very quick to recognize when resources taken […]

What if I told you of a land in which people could vote on the state’s ability to tax them? If the state had not given anything worthwhile to the people, they could in principle refuse to be taxed until the state regained their trust. The states and towns are largely free to decide upon […]

City planning is a task that is often seen as a unique realm of governmental necessity. The existence of externalities means that the market could create extremely sub optimal outcomes when creating a city. For example, a house with a messy front yard hurts everyone, but the people in this house might have little incentive […]