Janet Yellen

Janet Louise Yellen (born August 13, 1946) is an American economist serving as the United States Secretary of the Treasury since January 26, 2021. She was the Chair of the US central bank, the Federal Reserve System, from 2014 to 2018. She previously served as Vice Chair from 2010 to 2014.

Economics is a subject that really relates to core aspects of human well-being, and there’s a methodology for thinking about these things. This was a very appealing combination to me.

Quotes

• It is imperative that Congress swiftly addresses the debt limit
• [Failing to act could spark an economic catastrophe] Nearly 50 million seniors could stop receiving Social Security checks for a time. Troops could go unpaid. Millions of families who rely on the monthly child tax credit could see delays.
• In a matter of days, millions of Americans could be strapped for cash.”
  • remarks to the Senate Banking Committee according to "Here’s what the debt limit standoff means for you (September 28, 2021)

• So, it is not reporting of individual transactions or anything of the like. And it would be a simple thing for banks and other payment providers to provide along with the other information they’re already providing.
  • "Yellen defends IRS rule requiring banks to report all transactions over $600" (October 5, 2021)

• [Democrats are considering a new tax] on liquid assets held by extremely wealthy individuals
  • "Secretary Yellen: How new billionaire tax would work"+short video (October 24, 2021)

• The Fed has a dual mandate and it is maximum employment and price stability. I think that’s the way it’s phrased in the law
  • Yellen says the administration is fighting inflation, admits she was wrong that it was 'transitory' (PUBLISHED WED, JUN 1 20228:01 AM EDT UPDATED WED, JUN 1 20229:32 AM EDT)

The Hand on the Lever (2014) =

"The Hand on the Lever" in The New Yorker (July 21, 2014) by Nicholas Lemann

• I felt I wanted to talk about the Fed’s mission, and I wanted to do so in understandable terms, and to emphasize that unemployment is part of our mission. The recession has taken a particularly heavy toll on those who have less education and income—middle-income and low-income families—and the Fed’s concern with the job market is a theme I’ve wanted to get across. Why are we doing all these things that are in the newspapers all the time? I was trying to explain that we’re doing this to help American families who are struggling in the aftermath of the Great Recession.

• Economics is a subject that really relates to core aspects of human well-being, and there’s a methodology for thinking about these things. This was a very appealing combination to me. Market systems are capable of massive breakdowns that can result in long, devastating periods of high unemployment. And I felt that economists had really learned something about how to address that.

• [New classical economics] was the starting point for a rightward shift in economics that went against the idea that monetary policy can improve macroeconomic outcomes.

• O.K., so what does standard new classical economics say? You should cut the wages of everybody who works for you. Because there are all the people standing outside the factory gates, and they have the same skill set as the people who work for you. You should at least be willing, according to this view, if not to hire them, to say to your own workers, ‘If you don’t take a pay cut, I’m going to replace you with them.’ But one goes around, actually talks to firms, and you’ll find that no firm would do that.

About

• An outstanding choice. Tough, smart and principled
  • Elizabeth Warren in TRANSITION 2020 progressives praise Yellen but could soon clash with Biden’s Treasury pick published November 27,2020

External links

• https://twitter.com/SecYellen