Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen blames Americans wanting to 'splurge' after the ... trends now
6
View
comments
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said a 'splurge' in spending by Americans shuttered inside their homes during the pandemic is what drove record inflation that followed.
She made the comment in an appearance on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,' where she pointed to a rush to acquire consumer products amid a drop in normal spending habits on things like movies and concerts.
'So, normally you wouldn't expect just because you have a rapid recovery for inflation to rise very much, if at all,' she told the host, who asked her 'What happened, simply and clearly.'
The mere question drew a laugh, and Yellen called it 'a challenge' to answer.
Then she started describing the 'rapid recovery' from the pandemic when Biden took office.
Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen pointed to consumer 'splurging' after the pandemic forced many Americans to stay in their homes as a chief driver of inflation
'But it turned out the pandemic had very special impacts on the economy,' Yellen said. 'Remember everybody stopped spending on services.'
'They were in their homes for a year or more. they wanted to buy grills and office furniture. They were working from home. They suddenly started splurging on goods, buying technology,' Yellen continued.
'We [were] suddenly working through technology. And bottlenecks started developing where supply
