Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen admitted on "Morning Joe" she does not have a good answer as to why Americans continue to have a negative view of the U.S. economy because, according to her, the Biden administration has done a great job. (The Biden administration has not.)
"I’m not asking you to play therapist with the American voter but there seems to be a disconnect between the numbers we are seeing and the way people are feeling about the economy and how do you account for it?" MSNBC's Katty Kay asked on Tuesday.
"I agree with you there’s a disconnect and I don’t have a simple and convincing answer. But Americans have been through a lot. The pandemic really took a toll on American families, on children, on households. We are enjoying a remarkable recovery, but also with high inflation, much of it reflecting supply bottlenecks that developed during the pandemic, and then with Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine we saw a surge in gas prices, in food prices. Americans have been reeling from high inflation," Yellen replied.
"They do realize in polls that it is coming down and Americans’ financial situation actually improved during the pandemic. Interestingly, when Americans are asked about their own personal financial situation they’re positive on that. The negative results you cite mainly reflect their answers to how is the economy more broadly doing," Yellen asserted.
A CNN poll from August showed Americans do not believe the Biden administration's claim the economy is do better:
Biden’s overall approval rating stands at 41% in the new poll, about on par with where it’s been since the spring. His approval drops to 37% when Americans assess his handling of the economy and further still to 30% for his handling of inflation. Among political independents, a scant 26% approve of his handling of inflation.