Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is pushing back against Republican criticism of the Democrats’ big coronavirus pandemic response package and making an election year pitch that the current state of the U.S. “vindicates” the steps taken in 2021 to “get our economy back on track.”
Quick Read
- Yellen’s Defense of Stimulus Package: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan against Republican criticism in her prepared remarks at a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting.
- Current Economic State: Yellen cited falling inflation, a low unemployment rate of 3.7%, and the U.S. averting a recession as evidence of the package’s success.
- Republican Criticism: The stimulus package, passed without Republican support, has been blamed by Republicans for contributing to two years of inflation.
- Yellen’s Argument: Yellen argued that the most significant risk would have been insufficient action, and the current economic situation vindicates the Democrats’ approach.
- Biden’s Reelection Campaign: As President Joe Biden seeks reelection, he is focusing on convincing voters about inflation control and a strong economy.
- Public Concern Over Economy: Surveys by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicate a high level of public concern about the economy, with a majority considering it a top issue.
- Benefits to States and Local Governments: Yellen emphasized that the COVID-19 spending positively impacted states and local governments, suggesting that a smaller response could have worsened the U.S. economy.
- Wage Growth: Yellen highlighted that wages have risen, with gains being broadly shared across different worker demographics.
- Global Recovery Comparison: She claimed that the U.S. recovered faster than its global peers.
- Federal Reserve’s Inflation Outlook: Federal Reserve official Christopher Waller expressed confidence that inflation would continue to decline to the Fed’s 2% target level, noting the combination of slowing inflation with solid growth and hiring.
The Associated Press has the story:
Yellen: US economic growth ‘vindicates’ Biden’s COVID-19 stimulus spending
Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP) —
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is pushing back against Republican criticism of the Democrats’ big coronavirus pandemic response package and making an election year pitch that the current state of the U.S. “vindicates” the steps taken in 2021 to “get our economy back on track.”
With falling inflation, unemployment at 3.7% and the U.S. apparently defying predictions of a recession, Yellen was set to defend the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan in remarks prepared for delivery Wednesday at a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington, D.C.
The stimulus package, which was passed into law without a Republican vote, is regularly cited by Republicans as the cause for two years of accelerating price spikes that hurt millions of American households.
“Many had argued that this Rescue Plan wasn’t needed. But I believe seeing where we are today vindicates the approach we took,” Yellen said in the prepared remarks. “President Biden and I believed that the most dangerous risk was in going too small.”
As President Joe Biden seeks reelection, he is trying to convince voters who are gloomy about the economy that inflation is under control and the economy is strong.
Some 76% of U.S. adults polled by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in December said they want the government to work on issues related to the economy this year, nearly the same as the 75% who said so at this point in 2022.
About 85% of Republicans and 65% of Democrats named the economy as a top issue.
An October AP-NORC poll stated that roughly three-quarters of Americans described the nation’s economy as poor.
At the mayors’ conference, Yellen planned to say the Biden administration’s COVID-19 spending benefited states and local governments — and that had the administration’s response been smaller the U.S. economy could be worse off.
“Wages are up and wage gains have been broadly shared, including by younger and less educated workers,” Yellen said in her prepared remarks, adding that the U.S. had recovered “faster than our peers around the world.”
A top Federal Reserve official, Christopher Waller, said Tuesday that he is increasingly confident inflation will continue falling this year back to the Fed’s 2% target level.
Waller said inflation was slowing even as growth and hiring remain solid, a combination that he called “almost as good as it gets.”
