During a somewhat shocking interview on CNBC, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen conceded that low-income Americans might be “exhausting” savings, but claimed generally that Americans are in a “quite strong” financial position, even amidst inflation. She also argued that inflation is on its way down and that the economy is “strong.”
Yellen’s claim that Americans are in a generally “strong” spot came despite reports showing that inflation in some necessary items, such has food, has been painfully high under the Biden Presidency and polls showing that Americans are worried about their financial situations.
Reporting on the grocery price inflation issue, for example, The American Tribune reported, “According to recent reports, the cost of groceries is nearly 40 percent higher than in 2019. As Americans are still enduring the effects of the historically high inflation sustained throughout the Biden administration, consumers have to find ways to make ends meet and put food on the table.”
Continuing, The American Tribune noted, “Per an analysis from the Wall Street Journal, which evaluated recent data from NielsonIQ, the prices of everyday consumer food items, including vegetables, starches, snacks, and meat, have increased at an alarming rate. Groceries that would have cost $100 five years ago have increased roughly 36.5 percent, approaching a bill of nearly $140.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Americans on Tuesday that their household finances were “quite strong” despite numerous polls indicating that’s not at all what average families are seeing from their kitchen tables.
Yellen, in any case, claimed that inflation will come down and that the economy is strong, along with claiming that most people are in a good spot financially. She said, during her CNBC interview, “I believe inflation will continue to come down.” Then, when asked if the economy would “continue to hold up,” Yellen said, “I think we’ve got a good, strong economy.”
Continuing, she claimed the average American “consumer” is in a “very good” spot financially, telling CNBC, “We’ve got very strong domestic demand, consumers are holding up — some low income consumers are perhaps exhausting their buffers of saving that they built up during the pandemic, we’re seeing a little bit more distress at the household level there, but generally households are in very good financial shape, our financial system is generally quite strong.”
Watch her here;
Americans generally feel differently. A recent study from the Brookings Institution, a center-left think tank, found that Americans have slightly better views on the economy than they did a few months ago, but are still generally quite negative on it and worried about inflation. The Brookings report found:
“Inflation and high prices remain the electorate’s top concern and dominate voters’ assessmentof the economy. In a just-released Economist/YouGov survey, 22% of voters identify inflation/prices as their most important issue, compared to only seven percent who cite jobs and the economy. According to a Data for Progress analysis, 68% of those who put inflation and prices first named the cost of food as their principal concern, followed by housing (17%), utilities (eight percent), and gas (three percent).“
“Despite some modest recent improvement, voters’ sentiments about the economy remain negative. A recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) survey found 31% of voters endorse the proposition that the economy has improved over the past two years, up by 10 percentage points since December. In another sign of progress, a New York Times (NYT) survey from early March found that 26% regard economic conditions as excellent or good, up from 20% since last July.“
Featured image credit: By Federalreserve – _D4A3633, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71538937
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