Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen issued a stark warning about the economy and delivered what appeared to be a veiled endorsement just over 40 days before the presidential election.
In an opinion piece written in the The Wall Street JournalThe top economic official said the United States is on the right economic path and promoted the the policies implemented by the Biden administration over the past three and a half years, but also warned that the United States must continue on the right path.
“Risks remain, but the data suggest we are on track for a soft landing,” Yellen wrote just days after the Federal Reserve announced its biggest interest rate cut in more than sixteen years.
Yellen noted that inflation has come down significantly from its peak, while the unemployment rate in the United States remains near a historic low. She also said that economic growth has been solid.
“Viating from our course could jeopardize our economic trajectory,” Yellen wrote.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks on the state of the U.S. economy on September 19, 2024 in Washington, DC.
“Permanent tax cuts that favor the wealthy and go unpaid would blow up the federal deficit. Reversing investments in the industries of the future would slow growth. And pursuing unstrategic and untargeted international economic policies would increase costs for Americans and cause global turmoil,” he added.
The op-ed expressed Yellen’s support for keeping Democrats in the White House as the Nov. 5 presidential election approaches, while alluding to Donald Trump’s economic proposals, including a 10 percent blanket tariff on goods entering the United States.
This comes as polls show the economy is the top concern in the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump, as both candidates are During the election campaign, divergent economic visions were put forward about the future of the United States.
Harris has called for a range of economic policies ranging from expanding the Child Tax Credit, as was temporarily done under the American Rescue Plan, to providing $25,000 down payments for first-time homebuyers and a controversial plan to ban price gouging to address higher food costs.
The vice president has called for tax increases on large corporations and the wealthiest Americans to help fund her policy proposals.
Trump has pushed to extend tax cuts passed during his first term, which are set to expire at the end of next year. He has also proposed eliminating taxes on tips, Social Security and overtime.
Yellen did not mention policy details or any of the candidates by name, but she did highlight the vice president’s work in the Biden administration.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s op-ed warning that the U.S. must stay on track or she could “jeopardize” the country’s economic trajectory comes as the 2024 presidential election is in full swing. While Yellen did not mention Harris by name, she included the vice president when writing about the Biden administration’s work on the economy and cost cutting.
“At this moment, our policy choices are critical,” Yellen wrote. “The President, the Vice President, and I believe we need investments that will reduce costs and reinforce our strategy for strong, broad-based growth over the long term.”
Yellen acknowledged that energy, housing and health care prices remain too high and vowed to continue to…The highest economic priority is to reduce them.
The Treasury secretary noted that the U.S. labor market recovered from the 2020 pandemic-related recession faster than in previous downturns, and that the United States has outperformed other advanced economies in terms of economic growth and cooling inflation.
Yellen called for building on investments already underway under President Biden so far, including the infrastructure bill, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as expanding support for child care.
“Our economic strategy has helped America weather challenging times — from a global pandemic to the largest war in Europe since World War II — and build for the future,” Yellen wrote. “Our administration is committed to sustaining and building on our progress.”
The op-ed comes as a number of recent polls show an extremely tight race between Harris and Trump in the final sprint before the election, including in the seven swing states that will likely decide the election.
A CBS News poll found that Harris is doing best among those who view the national economy positively right now.
Among likely voters who believe the economy is doing well, 88 percent support Harris. Among those who believe their personal finances are doing well, 64 percent back the vice president.
Despite the improvements, many registered voters overall still don’t think things are going well. Only 39 percent said the condition of the U.S. economy is good, while 59 percent said it is bad.