The papers in this fine volume, assembled by editors John Cochrane and John Taylor, were written “to help inform an important review of monetary policy undertaken by the Federal Reserve in 2019.”1 In the short time since the volume was finalized, COVID-19 has exploded onto the world scene, causing vast medical harm and heartache as well as financial and economic disruption of historic proportions. In addition, the Fed has unveiled major portions of the results of its framework review. 

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Supporters of President Trump storm the US Capitol; Congress mulls how to punish the president for the rioting; Big Tech cracks down on Trump and conservative social media—and we still have a full-blown pandemic. Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss whether the confluence of events qualifies as a snafu (“situation normal, all fouled up”) or a more ominous fubar (“fouled up beyond all recognition”).

Prices are a fact of life, and so is complaining about them. You probably prefer lower prices on just about everything, but especially when buying a house or paying for college, and you wish for higher prices when it comes time to sell that house or negotiate your salary. Complaints aside, prices are the key to widespread prosperity.

Prices contain vital information. Too often, governments interfere with them. In an attempt to protect consumers, politicians mandate lower prices. Other times, governments push prices up to benefit certain industries. These efforts might be well intentioned, but they distort the information that prices convey and tend to make us poorer.