Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday that the US economy has “never worked out fairly” for black Americans and people of color.
And now economic experts say high inflation and other economic problems attributed to President Joe Biden’s policies are disproportionately impacting the same people Yellen cited.
What did Yellen say?
Speaking at an event hosted by the National Action Network, an organization founded by Al Sharpton, Yellen claimed that the US economy only works fairly for white people.
“From Reconstruction to Jim Crow, to the present day, our economy has never worked fairly for black Americans — or, really, any American of color,” she said.
Yellen then claimed that the Biden administration had worked to correct systemic economic injustices, but only cited an “equity review,” “diverse leadership,” and Biden’s COVID bill, the plan. US bailout and $9 billion investment in Community Development Financial Institutions and Minority Trustee. establishments.
“Since taking office last January, our administration has tried to change that, to ensure that neither the figurative bank of justice — nor any literal economic institution — works for people of color,” Yellen said.
“It’s been a year of action, especially at the Treasury Department,” she continued. “We have completed the Treasury’s first capital review, looking across the Department and asking: where are our operations not as inclusive as they should be? We assembled the most diverse leadership team in Treasury history and hired the Department’s first-ever Racial Equity Advisor. And then there’s the Treasury’s pandemic response. We knew the communities hardest hit by COVID were often communities of color, and so when we started implementing relief bills like the US bailout, we did so out of concern for equity.
But what is happening under Biden?
Inflation rose under Biden and hit a whopping 7% in December, the highest rate in 40 years. Experts blame, at least in part, the US bailout for rising inflation.
Unfortunately, experts also say that inflation hits Americans the hardest according to Yellen who receive an unfair blow in the US economy.
Business Insider reported in November:
Inflation has hit low-income families, families of color and rural households more than other demographic groups, according to a Bank of America research report released last week. Breaking down demographics by race, geography and income, the bank found that the “inflationary shock” of 2021 disproportionately affected the marginalized: households without college degrees, African-American, Hispanic and Latino communities and those who do not live in cities spent more of their after-tax income on goods and services.
Inflation knocks Americans lower on the socio-economic scale because they have less wealth. Those with less wealth and tighter budgets immediately feel the effects of inflation, which diminishes the purchasing power of every dollar. However, wealthier Americans are generally less affected by inflation because they have more fiscal space.
Meanwhile, unemployment for black Americans rose to 7.1% last month, more than double the figure for white Americans. It doesn’t seem, at least for now, that Biden’s economy is working for black Americans.
Treasury secretary post says economy has ‘never worked out fairly’ for black Americans; experts say inflation hits them hardest appeared first on TheBlaze.
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