U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference, after attending the G7 finance ministers meeting, at Winfield House in London, Britain June 5, 2021.
- The former Federal Reserve chair said the president's plans would total about $400 billion each year — a level of spending she argued was not enough to create an inflation over-run.
- "If we ended up with a slightly higher interest rate environment it would actually be a plus for society's point of view and the Fed's point of view," Yellen told Bloomberg.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that President Joe Biden's $4 trillion spending proposal would be positive for the country, even if it leads to a rise in interest rates.
During an interview with Bloomberg News, the former Federal Reserve chair said the president's plans would total about $400 billion each year — a level of spending she argued was not enough to create an inflation over-run.
"If we ended up with a slightly higher interest rate environment it would actually be a plus for society's point of view and the Fed's point of view," Yellen told Bloomberg.
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"We've been fighting inflation that's too low and interest rates that are too low now for a decade," she said. She added that if the packages help at all to "alleviate things then that's not a bad thing — that's a good thing."
Read the full Bloomberg report here.
