Janet L. Yellen is consistant

[Plane]

November 6, 2006

......Much of my interest in macro policy has been founded on the belief that it can and should improve the lives of the broad range of our nation’s people. I think of this as happening through two channels. First, policies that reduce the frequency and size of the fluctuations in business cycles can spare people the painful disruptions that occur during recessions, or, in the worst cases, tragic events like the Great Depression of the 1930s. Second, policies that succeed in enhancing the long-run growth of productivity should help lift the average standard of living over time.

By many measures, these two channels have been operating extremely well in our economy for some time. In terms of the business cycle, for almost two decades we have been enjoying an era that many economists call the “Great Moderation”; in other words, recessions have been less frequent, and the swings have been less severe, while, at the same time, inflation has come down to quite moderate levels and itself has been less volatile.

Productivity trends also have been very favorable, probably in no small part because of the impact of technological advancements. Growth in labor productivity has been quite rapid for over ten years now, following more than a quarter century of stagnation that began in the early 1970s.

Given these two developments—more macro stability and more rapid labor productivity growth—it is tempting to conclude that most Americans are feeling “better off.” But a glance at the newspapers suggests that this is not necessarily the case. Indeed, poll after poll shows that many Americans feel dissatisfied with the long-term direction of the economy and are worried about the future. Recent polls by the Pew Charitable Trust, the New York Times and CBS News, and various labor organizations indicate that growing shares of respondents feel that they and their children will experience a diminished quality of life in coming years, and that, even today, working conditions are marked by more insecurity and stress than they were a generation ago....

http://www.frbsf.org/our-district/press/presidents-speeches/yellen-speeches/2006/november/economic-inequality-in-the-united-states/

OCT. 17, 2014

“The extent of and continuing increase in inequality in the United States greatly concern me,” Ms. Yellen said at a conference sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. “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.”

But Ms. Yellen did not address in her speech whether she agrees with the premise that a Fed-driven economic recovery has contributed to inequality, and if so what it implies for her agency.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/18/business/yellen-warns-of-inequality-threat.html?_r=0


   The Fed chief, is and should be, a little bit hard to understand.

[Xavier_Onassis]

i can agree with this.

[Plane]

What would you want her to do?


  She could be an influence for decades.

[Xavier_Onassis]

It is what she does that is important, NOT what she says to the public. The Stock Market can be very volatile when it responds to what it thinks she will do, and that can be harmful to the economy.  I expect her to managed the Fed equitably and fairly and not to make waves.