1/ Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen backed Biden’s position that a recession is “not inevitable.” Yellen acknowledged, however, that she expects some economic slowing as the Federal Reserve aggressively tries to curb inflation with increased interest rates. The year-over-year inflation rate is currently at 9.6% – a 40-year high – and the major stock market indexes are all down more than 20% from their highs. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, however, said all the “precedents point towards a recession,” adding that the unemployment rate would need to rise above 5% for a sustained period in order to curb inflation. Biden, meanwhile, suggested pausing the federal gas tax as a way to reduce prices for Americans. The gas tax adds 18.4 cents total per gallon of gasoline, which currently cost about $5 a gallon on average. Biden is also considering lifting Trump-era tariffs to slow inflation. (Washington Post / Politico / ABC News / Bloomberg)
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2022/06/21/day-518/