Peter's Blog

Bessent is Right: The Economy Needs a Detox

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is right when he says that the economy needs a “detox.” To fix the problems created by decades of artificially-low interest rates, soaring deficits, out-of-control spending, a dying manufacturing base, and central bank meddling, there has to be a little bit (or a lot) of pain.

Stocks Falter as Trump Hints at Economic Shift

Major stock indexes stumbled on Monday following remarks from former President Donald Trump that suggested the U.S. economy might be in for a transition period. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 890 points, a 2.1% decline, while the S&P 500 fell 2.7% and the Nasdaq Composite slid 4%. Government bond yields ticked lower, with the […]

Would DOGE Stimulus Checks Help Americans?

American households could receive stimulus checks derived from cuts imposed by DOGE. In fact, there has been talk of DOGE checks from Department of Government Efficiency Chairman Elon Musk himself. But would the free money really help Americans?

To Tariff or Not to Tariff?

First there was the first Trump trade war, which appeared to end before it began. Now, a dizzying Round Two has begun of the Trump tariff saga, and it isn’t clear what concessions will be made. But there is a common denominator: things change quickly under a Trump administration, with a rapid-fire news cycle and […]

The Empirically Significant Frontier Spirit

SchiffGold’s commitment to gold arises from a strong belief in individual liberty, which is almost synonymous with what it means to be American. While personal independence from government overreach is informally a core American trait, it arose from unique historical circumstances that separated America from most other independent new nations. The American founding was ideologically […]

Imprimis and the Danger of Price Controls

50 years ago, Hillsdale College released the first in a series of mailed pamphlets. At the time they could have no idea about how much this publicity arm of the college would grow in the future, or the amount of public discourse it would cause. Imprimis’ has become one of the most widely circulated academic […]

The Core and Curse of DOGE

Every election Americans have been desensitized to claims of cutting spending and somehow getting everything they want at the same time. We expect that candidates will say we can have it all. We hypothetically know that cutting spending and government waste are good things, but they always take second priority to whatever urgent situation or […]

A Brief History of US Tariffs

President Trump says he wants to be “The Tariff President,” fully embracing a longstanding and powerful tool in the economic arsenals of nations. 

Jerome Powell Rejects CBDC, Has No Plans for Rate Cuts

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made a definitive statement during Tuesday’s Senate hearing, affirming that as long as he remains at the helm, the Fed will not develop its own digital currency. During his semiannual testimony on monetary policy and regulation, Powell was asked by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) if he would commit to forgoing […]

Why We Should Bank Free

Free banking is seen by many as something that should be left in 18th century Scotland. Free banking is where each bank issues their own note that is redeemable for a certain amount of a commodity, typically gold. The value of the note is determined by the assessed probability that that bank will indeed be […]