Rising Inequality: Janet Yellen Tells It Like It Is

The extent of and continuing increase in inequality in the United States greatly concerns me. … It is no secret that the past few decades of widening inequality can be summed up as significant income and wealth gains for those at the very top and stagnant living standards for the majority. I think it is appropriate to ask whether this trend is compatible with values rooted in our nation’s history, among them the high value Americans have traditionally placed on equality of opportunity.

No, that wasn’t Elizabeth Warren, or the editor of the Nation, or Paul Krugman (or even me) banging on about how the rich are getting richer and most everybody else is struggling to keep up. It was Janet Yellen, the chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, addressing a conference in Boston on Friday morning. It’s not unheard of for a Fed chief to discuss rising inequality: Ben Bernanke addressed it in a 2007 speech. But Yellen’s speech is surely the first time a Fed chief has pointed out that rising inequality threatens America’s sense of itself.

The Yellen Doctrine: Robust Growth Is the Priority, but Bubbles Matter

Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday morning, Janet Yellen, who has been nominated as the next head of the Federal Reserve, confirmed what people who have dealt with her over the years already knew: she’s a very smart and formidable woman. Displaying virtually no sign of nerves in a key confirmation hearing, she gave direct answers to questions on a variety of issues, avoided spooking the markets, and even managed to disarm some of the Fed critics on the panel.

All in all, it was an impressive performance from the sixty-seven-year-old product of Fort Hamilton High School, in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, if not a particularly surprising one. Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, pointed out that Yellen, who has held a number of senior positions at the central bank over the past twenty years, including, most recently, serving as Ben Bernanke’s deputy, might be the most qualified person ever chosen to run the Fed. And yet, she hasn’t been without her critics. During the summer, when there was widespread speculation that President Obama was intent on passing over her in favor of Larry Summers, some anonymous Administration officials questioned whether she had the chops to respond to financial crises and do all the other things that heads of central banks are expected to do. While one accomplished appearance on Capitol Hill doesn’t make Yellen a successful Fed chairwoman, she has already quieted some of the doubters.

Janet Yellen as Federal Reserve Chair Is a Good Start…

Let’s be blunt. Barack Obama is still in denial about the sorry state of the economy, and so are both parties in the stalemated Congress. The government is consumed by wrong arguments about the wrong crisis, while the Federal Reserve keeps pointing out discreetly that the economy is still sick. Prosperity is not just around the corner.

Obama has a way to break out of this mess. Instead of wrangling with know-nothing Republicans over how to cut spending and make things worse, the president should make his “grand bargain” with the Federal Reserve. Together, they can develop an aggressive agenda to stimulate job creation and create the new demand the stagnant economy needs. The president’s explicit support would give the Fed the political cover it needs to use its powers of money creation and directed lending for unusual intervention in the economy. The central bank created $3 trillion in new money to refloat the financial system. It should do something similar, but more modestly, to restore the real economy.

Janet Yellen’s Harvard Speech

A reporter from our humor department has tried to find a talk on men and economics given in 2005 by Janet Yellen at Harvard Business School. But since there’s no sign of a transcript (or such a speech), here’s how our correspondent imagines it might have gone.

I’d like to thank Harvard for inviting me here today to speak about the issues of diversity that confront the world’s élite financial institutions. Now, there are many fields in which men are significantly overrepresented, but it is especially troubling in the case of economics for one reason: men are so bad at it.

Larry Summers Is Out, but the Boys’ Club Is as In as Ever

On Sunday, Larry Summers sent President Obama a letter withdrawing his name from consideration to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, and progressives did rejoice. The news came after a protracted and heated debate, particularly for a role that doesn’t tend to get a lot of hearts racing, over who should take over when Ben Bernanke leaves in January. The contest was reportedly between Summers and Janet Yellen, who currently serves as vice-chair for the Fed.

3 Sexist Reasons Why People Don't Want Janet Yellen To Run The Fed

In recent months, Janet Yellen has emerged as one of two top candidates to take control of the Federal Reserve when Ben Bernanke steps down. Though some say Yellen, the Fed's current vice chair, is the smartest person at the central bank, she's been subjected to a swath of criticism, which many of her defenders argue is tinged with sexism.