Peter Jacobsen
FEE
Contact Peter
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Peter:
Why We Should Let Bad Banks Fail
Allowing banks to fail may sound extreme, but it’s really the most reasonable solution. It’s true there will be some costs if the banks fail. Any time a business fails, other investors tied financially to the company lose. But here’s the rub—people who invest in bad businesses should lose. SVB’s failure is a reflection of the fact that it was a wealth shredder. → Read More
How the Free Market Handles Monopoly
Many worry that monopolies will run rampant without regulation. The market process, however, illustrates a different story. And while banning monopolies via anti-trust law may sound good, the actual practice amounts to fighting fire with fire. → Read More
Why a Big Tax Refund Shouldn’t Excite You
You don’t have to go far on the internet to see people celebrating their big refunds or mourning their small refunds. This impulse, while understandable, is misplaced. A big refund is not a good thing. To understand why, you have to understand the idea of withholding. → Read More
Did FDR Create the Middle Class?
The middle class wasn't created by the New Deal, nor did it come into existence as a result of war-time spending. History shows us the seeds of American economic growth were planted long before these events. → Read More
3 Rules of Rational Parenting Derived from Good Economics
Economics may not be able to tell you everything about being a good parent, but it can help you generate some pretty good rules to follow. → Read More
The World's Largest Economics Association Just Passed a Policy Stating All Data in Journals Must Be 'Legally Acquired'
The American Economics Association is banning the use of "illegally obtained data." Unfortunately this move only serves to interfere with an idea-space already polluted by political incentives and coercion. → Read More
Has Capitalism Created a Wasteful Excess of Managers?
Have you noticed there seem to be a lot of managers nowadays? The staggering number of them in our economy is not evidence of private sector waste. Rather, it’s a response to public sector interference in the labor market. → Read More
Are Tattoos a Rational Use of Resources?
A common complaint against economics as a field is it assumes people are rational. But a little humility goes a long way in understanding why economists think this is reasonable. → Read More
Paul Ehrlich: Wrong on 60 Minutes and for Almost 60 Years
CBS recently featured doomsayer Paul Ehrlich on their long-running show 60 Minutes. In his segment, Ehrlich tries to convince viewers we’re on a fast track to an environmental disaster of existential proportions, particularly when it comes to animal extinctions. But Ehrlich, famous for failed predictions, refuses to correct his nearly 60-year fundamental error. → Read More
Norm Macdonald and the Economics of Comedy
Generating noise to confound expectations isn’t the only element associated with good comedy, but it’s essential, and it’s what Norm excelled at. Or, to quote Norm, “I feel comedy is surprise, right? So that’s the funniest thing—something they don’t expect.” → Read More
Did the Death of “Net Neutrality” Live Up to Doomsday Predictions?
Supporters of now-defunct net neutrality regulations claimed their end would usher in a different and worse internet. Have these predictions come true, and should we be worried about data throttling? → Read More
Why Economics Doesn’t Teach How to Pick Stocks
The Stock Market being unpredictable is a good thing. If market prices are unpredictable it’s because markets are successfully incorporating all relevant information about the value of a company’s capital. If market price changes were predictable, it would mean participants in markets are ignoring important information. → Read More
Artificial Intelligence Wrote This Article on Property Rights
The AI says concerns that artificial intelligence will steal human jobs are unfounded. Are you convinced? → Read More
8 Times C.S. Lewis Displayed Brilliant Political Commentary in the Chronicles of Narnia
Which book is it from? "I had forgotten that you are only a common boy. How should you understand the reasons of State? You must learn, child, that what would be wrong for you or for any of the common people is not wrong in a great Queen such as I. The weight of the world is on our shoulders." → Read More
Is Health Insurance Really Insurance?
Insurance only makes sense when there is uncertainty, but when you take a step back from our insurance industry in the US, you realize a lot of the insurance industry serves the function of facilitating government transfers rather than hedging against uncertainty. → Read More
Trump and the Media’s Prisoner’s Dilemma
If the media ignored Trump, they’d be more likely to get the exit they’ve been predicting for over six years. But they can't, and the prisoner's dilemma helps us understand why. → Read More
What Is 'Tight' Monetary Policy—and Can it Deliver a 'Soft Landing'?
When inflation becomes a concern to the Federal Reserve, they can use tools to lower the amount of funds available to businesses to "cool" the economy. But what does this actually look like? → Read More
Why Do Big Cities Tend to Have Bigger Government?
A reader asks: “Why is it that more populous cities seem more inclined to adopt laws and regulations that restrict individual autonomy, and attract residents more likely to vote for representatives who advocate such policies? → Read More
How Does the Federal Reserve Create Money?
From January 2020 to January 2022, the money supply increased from $15.4 trillion to $21.6 trillion. That’s a 40% increase in the money supply—unprecedented in recent US history. So how did the Fed do it? → Read More
Why I Love Landlords
"Last Sunday at 2:00 a.m., I found myself lying down in a dirt trench of my own making, carving out the mud to tunnel up from under my foundation to expose my old water pipe. And as I was digging, a singular thought rang in my head. I miss having a landlord." → Read More