U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said at a Senate Banking Committee hearing in Washington on Thursday that high prices from inflation will persist, but gave President Joe Biden a pass on fiscal policies, saying it is not the fault of Bidenomics.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) asked Secretary Yellen at the hearing in the nation’s Capitol if Americans are in for sticky inflation: “These high prices, caused by ‘Bidenomics,’ are here to stay – aren’t they?”
“Well, the high prices were not caused by ‘Bidenomics,” Yellen said in the first place. “We suffered a pandemic that resulted in severe dislocations,” she proffered, talking about a less productive global supply chain post-pandemic.
While speaking at a recent campaign event, former President Donald Trump joked that we learned new terms under Biden like “supply chain” and that when he was president people didn’t talk about that because everything just worked.
Janet Yellen is a confused person who probably shouldn't be running a charity bake sale let alone the U.S. Treasury.
Here she is repeatedly refusing to answer the question of if the Treasury has asked banks to conduct surveillance on Americans' purchases. pic.twitter.com/olZIKhPprN
— Brick Suit (@Brick_Suit) February 6, 2024
Kennedy then returned Yellen’s attention to how long inflation would persist, asking: “But if I could ask you, they’re here to stay, aren’t they?” The White House cabinet secretary admitted she expects prices to remain inflated over the long term.
“I don’t expect the level of prices to go down. Some prices will be higher than they were before the pandemic and will stay higher,” Yellen answered.
Yellen pointed out that wages have grown, “But wages have risen considerably, and the pace of price increases has now receded over the past six months.”
“We don’t have to get the prices down because wages are going up,” the Treasury secretary contended. “So Americans, on average, are better off in spite of the fact that the level of prices is higher.”
Senator Kennedy to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen: "You're a good sport to go out every day and try to defend Bidenomics. It's like trying to defend a fungal infection. Bidenomics is really just paying more to live worse." pic.twitter.com/1CMBTRYmQX
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) February 8, 2024
“The plight of the economy over the next 12 months may help to dictate whether it was wise, or not, for President Biden to trumpet the branding of ‘Bidenomics,’” Bankrate senior economist Mark Hamrick said.
Kennedy balked at Yellen’s answer. Kennedy asked, “You don’t think we need to get these prices down? You think it’s OK that bacon’s up 20% under President Biden?”
