Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been a true accessory to the ongoing economic problems in this country, particularly with inflation, spending months touting the administration line rather than telling the truth to the American people. Yellen and Joe Biden repeatedly told the country that inflation would be “transitory” or that it was the fault of Republicans, Russia, or COVID-19.
To her credit, Yellen later admitted that they’d been completely wrong about inflation.
“Well, look, I think I was wrong then about the path that inflation would take. As I mentioned, there have been unanticipated and large shocks to the economy that have boosted energy and food prices and supply bottlenecks that have affected our economy badly that I didn’t — at the time — fully understand,” Yellen told CNN in May 2022. “But we recognize that now.”
Did they really? I’m not sure the public would agree, and Biden hasn’t changed his tune about inflation one bit. In fact, he’s still been claiming that inflation is down and that prices have been coming down too.
“Inflation is coming down,” he claimed during a speech at a political event in South Carolina on Saturday. “It’s now lower in America than any other major economy in the world. The cost of eggs, milk, chicken, gas, and so many other essential items have come down.”
He added, “But for all we’ve done to bring prices down, there are still too many corporations in America ripping people off: price gouging, junk fees, greedflation, shrinkflation.”
Biden brags about overall prices (up 17.3% during his presidency) and gas prices (up 30% from when he took office) pic.twitter.com/vHGneMScgk
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 28, 2024
This, of course, is false. Prices are up 17.3% overall during his presidency, and gas prices are up 30%.
Prices are certainly not going down, and you don’t even have to take my word for it. Janet Yellen said so during a recent appearance on ABC News.
“How do you convince Americans and voters that those prices might not go back to where they were before the pandemic?” she was asked.
“Well, I think most Americans know that prices are not likely to fall,” Yellen admitted. “It’s not the Fed’s objective to try to push the level of prices back to where they were.”
Biden Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen: “I think most Americans know that prices are not likely to fall.” pic.twitter.com/QM9fWa56NS
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 29, 2024
At least she’s being honest.
That said, I’m surprised she’s directly contradicting Biden’s claim that inflation and prices are going down. Perhaps she’s trying to protect her reputation with a little honesty, even if it means effectively calling Biden a liar. Not only are inflation and prices not going down, but Yellen also admitted that the Biden administration either doesn’t know how to fix it or is powerless to do so. Either way, both options contradict Biden’s claim that his policies are working to bring relief to the American people.
We all knew this, of course, but no one was telling it to us straight in the administration, and now I expect that Yellen will be called into a meeting to discuss what she’s saying in public because the conflicting messaging from her and Biden is a blessing for Donald Trump and the Republicans.