Peter's Blog

Trade Deficits Aren’t the Problem – Unsound Money Is

Last week, the Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration’s unconstitutional and economically destructive tariffs. But, as the White House seeks to impose new trade restrictions through other avenues, it’s worth reexamining why trade policy and inflationary monetary policy typically go hand-in-hand. The following article was originally published by the Mises Institute. The opinions expressed […]

Why Boom-Bust Cycles Validate Austrian Theory

One criticism of the Austrian School’s theory of recessions is that it doesn’t account for the expectations of entrepreneurs, who can anticipate central bank actions which precipitate economic busts. But, as Austrian economist Joe Salerno argues, this criticism betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of how recessions occur. The following article was originally published by the Mises […]

Menger vs. Chartalism: What Evidence Should Money Theories Require

How does money come about? Did someone invent it, or did it spontaneously emerge as a medium of exchange? The Austrian School of economics gets this question right, and the evidence is on its side. The following article was originally published by the Mises Institute. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Peter […]

Why “Public” Education Can Never Be Neutral

The state of the American economy testifies to the dangers of central planning in monetary and fiscal policy. Yet, many overlook the exact same dangers in education, where state provision of educational services produces equally disastrous results. The following article was originally published by the Mises Institute. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those […]

Inflation and the Moral Decay of Civilization

With consumer sentiment abysmally low, it’s tempting to think of inflation as an exclusively economic phenomenon. When its nature as society-wide fraud is understood, however, it’s easy to see why inflation corrodes both cultural and economic institutions. The following article was originally published by the Mises Institute. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those […]

Why Socialism Inevitably Ends in Totalitarian Tyranny

Socialists and other interventionists seek an economic system free from what they call “exploitation” and private property. But in reality, socialism inevitably leads to the forceful and violent expropriation of private property for the benefit of socialist planners. The following article was originally published by the Mises Institute. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect […]

Public Enemies: Government Bureaucrats as Societal Parasites

In today’s interventionist economy, the Fed inflates away the dollar and congress and the presidency spend trillions on a whim. But according to Austrian economist Murray Rothbard, the modern bureaucracy– especially the civil service system– is arguably the greatest threat to American liberty. The following article was originally published by the Mises Institute. The opinions […]

Why Government Isn’t Like Other Institutions

Many on the left and right speak about the government as if it’s equivalent to a business. This rhetoric, deployed to justify the seizure of productive capital or make the state “more efficient,” obscures the fact that business and government are fundamentally different. The following article was originally published by the Mises Institute. The opinions […]

Why Quantitative Methods Fall Short in Economic Analysis

Interventionists insist markets require elite, educated technocrats to study and calibrate advanced models of the economy. Much like a physicist in a lab, they see themselves as scientific and data-driven, but as the Austrian School demonstrates, economics is nothing like the natural sciences.

Tariffs: A Hidden Tax on Prosperity

With Trump’s latest batch of tariffs taking effect on March 4th, the American consumer is in for an economic beating. Just like any other tax, tariffs make us poorer.