U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen attends the Clinton Global Initiative Summit at the Hilton Midtown Hotel.
Lev Radin | Light Rocket | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday there is a “disconnect” between the actual performance of the U.S. economy and how Americans feel about President Joe Biden’s response.
Yellen said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that the negative opinions Americans share in polls about the economy “primarily reflect responses about the broader state of the economy.”
However, she predicted that once people see the effects of the Biden administration’s bills and policies, they will start to feel more positive about the economy overall.
“It’s going to take time. President Biden and Congress passed three bills,” Yellen said.
“We’re investing in America in a way we haven’t done in decades.”
Approximately three out of five respondents to a question Wall Street Journal poll A large percentage of registered voters disapproved of Biden’s performance on the economy. Additionally, 63% said they did not like the president’s handling of inflation.
before pollAccording to the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, just 36% of adults approve of Biden’s work on the economy and 42% approve of his overall job performance.
The results are particularly unwelcome for Mr. Biden, who is seeking re-election next year.
BBC News special correspondent Kati Kaye asked Yellen to “answer a mystery that the White House has found so perplexing: inflation and unemployment are falling.” That’s why those “good numbers” are not reflected in public opinion polls.
“I agree that there is a disconnect, but I don’t have a simple, convincing answer,” Yellen said.
“But Americans have been through a lot,” Yellen said. “The pandemic has taken a huge toll on American families, children, and households.”
“While we have enjoyed a remarkable recovery, inflation also remains high, much of it reflecting supply bottlenecks created by the pandemic and subsequent brutal Russian attack on Ukraine.”
But Yellen said slowing inflation and rising employment will fuel a post-pandemic recovery.
She predicted that the bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Control Inflation Act, would spur massive infrastructure development and grow not only manufacturing but also a “clean energy economy.”
“Since the Biden administration took office, $500 billion worth of investments in manufacturing have been announced and implemented, which will create exceptional manufacturing jobs across the country, especially in some regions. ‘These companies are missing out on growth and their wages are declining for an extended period of time,’ she said.
