The Consumer Price Index reports 8.5% inflation from March of 2021 to March of 2022: the largest 12-month inflation increase since December 1981. The drastic infusion of new dollars into the monetary system coupled with the decline in productivity from the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked fears of 1970’s-style “Great Inflation” or worse, a descent into the kind of Weimar-style hyperinflation that has torn apart so many nations.
Is this true? If so, what should be done? How should we prepare for the future?
An Adam Smith Society Young Leaders conversation addressed these timely questions with Steve Forbes, Nathan Lewis, and Elizabeth Ames on their new book, Inflation: What It Is, Why It's Bad and How to Fix It. MI senior fellow Allison Schrager provided a response.
This event was open to Young Leader supporters of the Adam Smith Society. Learn more or contact adamsmith@manhattan-institute.org.
Agenda
- 6-6:30pm: Welcome Reception
- 6:30-7:30pm: Book Event
- 7:30-8:15pm: Meet and Greet
Speakers
Steve Forbes is Chairman of Forbes Media, the foremost name in business information. A widely respected economic prognosticator and regular broadcast commentator, he hosts the acclaimed webcast “What’s Ahead.” He is the author and co-author of several books, including Money, the bestselling How Capitalism Will Save Us, and Flat Tax Revolution. He helped create the award-winning documentary In Money We Trust? In 1996 and 2000 he campaigned vigorously for the Republican nomination for the presidency.
Nathan Lewis is among the world’s leading authorities on monetary policy and economic history. He is the author of The Magic Formula: The Timeless Secret to Economic Health and Prosperity; Gold: The Once and Future Money; Gold: The Monetary Polaris; and Gold: The Final Standard. A Discovery Institute Fellow, his writing has appeared in Forbes, the Financial Times, and elsewhere. He publishes The Polaris Letter, a monthly investment newsletter available at NewWorldEconomics.com.
Elizabeth Ames is a noted commentator and author. She has collaborated with Steve Forbes on several books including Money. Her articles have appeared in Foxnews.com, The Daily Caller, American Spectator, and other outlets. She is co-producer and writer of the award-winning, public television documentary, In Money We Trust?, which has aired nationwide and can be viewed at InMoneyWeTrust.org.
Allison Schrager is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a City Journal contributing editor, where her research focuses on public finance, pensions, tax policy, labor markets, and monetary policy. She is also the author of An Economist Walks into a Brothel and co-founder of LifeCycle Finance Partners, LLC, a risk advisory firm.