Yellen says Biden's economic policies help US middle class more than Trump's
By David Lawder
CHICAGO (Reuters) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday drew a stark contrast between President Joe Biden's economic policies and those of former President Donald Trump, arguing that Biden's approach has produced the «fairest recovery on record» and will reap more benefits for the middle class.
Two days after Trump tightened his grip on the Republican 2024 presidential nomination with a comfortable victory in the New Hampshire nominating contest, Yellen traveled to Chicago to try to turn the tide on low voter approval ratings for Biden's handling of the economy, declaring that incomes were now outpacing subsiding inflation.
A new Reuters-Ipsos poll taken from Monday to Wednesday shows the Democratic president trailing Trump by six percentage points amid widespread voter apathy towards both candidates.
«Overall, the Biden administration has put in place the most extensive set of policies and investments to benefit the middle class and grow the economy that our country has seen in my lifetime,» Yellen told the Economic Club of Chicago.
She said the major components of «Bidenomics» — a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 rescue package, a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, a $52 billion investment in semiconductors and research, and a $430 billion clean energy and healthcare law — were aimed at enabling the middle class to drive the economy again.
That spending allowed the U.S. economy to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic with historically low unemployment and avoid the slow, painful recovery from the 2007-2009 recession that was sparked by the global financial crisis.
«Put simply, it's been the fairest recovery on record. We see this in gains not only for middle-class Americans but also across
Read more on investing.com
