S3E20: Who is Janet Yellen? She didn't want this job!

History Behind News Program

How would she feel about the first-ever U.S. default? How does she feel about high inflation?

My guest, Jon Hilsenrath, a senior correspondent of the Wall Street Journal, tells us exactly how Secretary Yellen feels about inflation (a stain on her record), and would feel about the first-ever U.S. default (heart attack!).

And he also explains how she was compelled to take this job — a job she initially declined.

“These are fucking people!” shouted Janet Yellen as she pounded the table. But it was not vulgarity. It was passion about the plight of people, people who are more than numbers, people who deserve better policies.

Secretary Yellen has been worried about a potential U.S. default for at least two years now. And she is determined to get inflation under control. But Janet Yellen has been here before — speaking about and dealing with America’s economy. So her story, as told by Mr. Hilsenrath, is really the story of America’s economy and its economic thoughts and policies. And in this story, her husband, Dr. George Akerlof, who is a recipient of a Nobel Prize in economics, plays a big role (as she does in his professional life). Yellen, Akerlof and their son, who also has a doctorate in economics, talk shop “all the time” at home. They live and breathe economics.

In this episode, Mr. Hilsenrath tells us the many sides of Yellen’s personality, and explains how they have in the past and may now influence her decisions — decisions with profound impacts on our economy. You’ll hear about (1) Yellen’s compulsive preparation (which, at least once, got in the way of swift decision-making), (2) her transition from the regimented and methodical approaches of the Fed to the hustle and bustle and politics of being a member of the U.S. President’s cabinet, (3) her and her husband’s moral purpose, (4) their desire, from early in their lives, to solve the unemployment issue, (5) their humilities versus the hubris of economists in general, (6) her legacy, and (7) her desire to do good, to do the right thing, in a town in which right and fairness aren’t easily defined or attainable. You will also learn and laugh about many important figures in the U.S. economy, and their quirks. You will hear about a family who talks economics all the time — at the kitchen table and on vacation.

You can learn more about Mr. Hilsenrath by clicking this link. And here is an Amazon link to his recent book, Yellen: The Trailblazing Economist Who Navigated an Era of Upheaval, which we discuss in this episode.

Also, to about the history of the US dollar and its dominance, you can listen to my conversation with Dr. Barry Eichengreen of U.C. Berkeley here: HbN-S2E26.

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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