The COVID-19 crisis and the see-sawing shutdown and stimulus policies resulting from it have inflicted significant damage on the U.S. economy. Economic damage is human damage. Work sustains us—ultimately our own physical health depends upon people’s ability to provide for themselves and their families in a robust and vibrant economy. As a result, everybody needs a clear glimpse at the economic future.

In this event, economist and Independent Institute Research Fellow Robert P. Murphy, author of the Independent book, Choice: Cooperation, Enterprise and Human Action, and Independent Executive Director Dr. Graham H. Walker discuss the policy directions needed to counteract the economic undertow of COVID-19. Dr. Murphy explores the impact of the backdrop business cycle for economic recovery, and examines the risks associated with unsustainable interest rates and unprecedented amounts of monetary inflation and debt issuance undertaken by the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank.

Prosperity can be secured, Dr. Murphy argues, but policymakers must take free-market-based, economically astute steps to achieve it.

Graham H. Walker

Graham H. Walker is Executive Director and Assistant Editor for The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy at the Independent Institute. He received his Ph.D. in public law and government from the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Walker has served as Associate Professor of Politics at Catholic University of America, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, Visiting Scholar in Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, NJ), Senior Research Scholar at the Witherspoon Institute, Headmaster at Oaks Christian School, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, President at Patrick Henry College, Legislative Aide to former Congressman David Stockman, and Fellow at the Presidio Institute.

Robert P. Murphy

Robert P. Murphy is a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute, author of the book Choice: Cooperation, Enterprise and Human Action, President of Consulting by RPM, Senior Economist with the Institute for Energy Research, and Associated Scholar with the Ludwig von Mises Institute. He received his Ph.D. in economics from New York University, and he was formerly Research Assistant Professor at the Free Market Institute at Tech Tech University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics at Hillsdale College, Visiting Scholar at New York University, Research Analyst at Laffer Associates, and Chief Economist for the Institute for Energy Research. His other books include Lessons for the Young Economist, The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism, and How Privatized Banking Really Works.