Peter's Blog

Herbert Hoover: The Forgotten Architect of Economic Intervention

In the literature on the Great Depression, interventionists claim that it was President Herbert Hoover’s “free market” policies that contributed to and even caused the economic crash that characterized the 1930s. But, under even the least scrutiny, this pernicious myth falls apart completely. The following article was originally published by the Mises Institute. The opinions […]

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 […]

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 […]

The Politics Behind Government Statistics

Recent statistical revisions have reignited debates over the nature of the state’s economic statistics. No matter who’s in power and all intentional data manipulation withstanding, the simple fact is that these metrics contain pro-intervention assumptions and are by nature political. The following article was originally published by the Mises Institute. The opinions expressed do not […]

Why Price Stability Is a Dangerous Illusion

One of the long-touted goals of central banking is “price stability,” which, in the minds of central bankers, means low and continuous inflation. Even if this goal wasn’t cover for inflationist policy, it’d still be important to note that “price stability” is actually an unachievable goal when properly understood.

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.

Tariffs Through an Austrian Lens

In post-election America, tariffs still occupy much of the policy debate surrounding the incoming Trump administration. With leftists arguing in bad faith on one side of the issue and economic populists on the other, we can turn to the Austrian school of economics to understand the tradeoffs at play with protectionism. The following article was […]

Government Counterfeiting Squeezes Families, Not Capitalism

It’s all capitalisms fault! What is? Well, everything. At least that’s the narrative you get from the political left, and quite frankly, not infrequently from the political right.