A quick review of the key takeaways on the policy implications from the COVID-19 pandemic by Hoover fellows:
[Last Updated: March 19, 2020]
March 19, 2020
In an interview for National Review, Research Fellow Russ Roberts warns that the COVID-19 outbreak, in a worst-case scenario, may trigger a major banking crisis: “I think there’s a chance we’ll have another round of bailouts.”
In an interview with Fox News’ Martha MacCaullum, Michael Auslin explains that it is difficult to believe the Chinese government’s claim that it has contained the COVID-19 outbreak: The regime cares “about their own survival and not the people, either in China or around the world.”
On the Grumpy Economist, John Cochrane writes that while forbearance for debtors during a national crisis is an age-old tradition, bills and contracts will eventually need to be paid: “It usually means a transfer from whoever entered the crisis not immensely leveraged to those that did.”
On The Classicist podcast, Senior Fellow Victor Davis Hanson argues that aside from being contagious, COVID-19 may exact an enormous human toll if self-isolation continues for much longer. He explained that the consequences include increased anxiety and idleness, and lost income, jobs, and businesses.
March 18, 2020
In an interview on Fox News @ Night, Visiting Fellow John Yoo said that while city “lockdowns” might be going too far, he doesn’t believe it is a violation of constitutional rights.
In an op-ed for RealClearPolitics, Michael Auslin, Distinguished Research Fellow in Contemporary Asia, writes that in its desperation to evade blame from the world community, Beijing’s propaganda machine has effectively reshaped the narrative about the origins of COVID-19.
March 17, 2020
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Senior Fellow John Cochrane writes that what the US economy needs during this crisis is more lending, and not just a “cash dump” from the federal government: “Since loans must be paid back, larger amounts can go where needed.”
In the American Interest, Distinguished Visiting Fellow Joseph Joffe writes that there is no need for the world’s democracies to adopt China’s model of repression to contain the spread of COVID-19: “If governments communicate truthfully with the people, the ruled do what needs to be done voluntarily.”
In National Review Online, Senior Fellow Victor Davis Hanson says the global toll of the coronavirus can be attributed back to the Communist Party of China.
March 16, 2020
In his Boston Globe column, Niall Ferguson argues that America’s “panic phase” of the COVID-19 epidemic is paradoxically a good one. He says that the United States was at greater risk of infection than Italy, but was able to mitigate the pandemic’s effects early enough through policies of social distancing.
For complete coverage of the analysis and commentary by Hoover Institution fellow on the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.
