Janet Yellen on Building a 'Better Deal for All Americans'

Despite being a global leader in innovation, home to the world's top universities, and having world-class capital markets and financial institutions, much of the United States is still struggling. However, there are many ways the Biden Administration is seeking to “build a better deal for all Americans.”

According to Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury of the U.S, here’s how the current administration plans to improve the country and address major national issues over the next several years.

The Biden Administration’s First Priority Is to End the Pandemic

“Our first problem was COVID-19,” said Yellen. “We've experienced a tragic loss of lives over the last year and also the loss of jobs and livelihoods by nearly every measure — health, income, wealth, or job loss.”

“Lower-income populations have been the hardest hit, with women and people of color facing the worst outcomes,” she added. “Our immediate priority was to end the pandemic and address its economic ravages.

This has been achieved primarily through mass vaccinations and the passing of the American Rescue Plan.

“Because of this support, our country is now unlikely to suffer the kind of long-lasting impairment that we saw after the global financial crisis,” she said.

The U.S. Government Is Addressing the Under-Investment in Public Infrastructure

“We must reorient our framing of U.S. fiscal policy,” said Yellen. “For decades, the prevailing focus has been on the need to decrease and then limit the size of government as a share of the economy.”

“This approach … has had profound effects on our nation and our people,” she added. “We haven’t maintained our infrastructure, let alone modernized it.”

As a result, President Biden has proposed the American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan, both of which will “promote a dynamic economy with greater opportunities for workers, higher living standards, and … reduced inequality.”

The Federal Government Will No Longer Ignore the Threat of Climate Change

Yellen noted that the U.S. has failed to address the ongoing threat of climate change, a severe yet controversial concern.

“We know that climate change poses an existential threat, but we also know it presents a historic economic opportunity for those companies, industries, and countries that seize the mantle of leadership and drive the transition to a global low-carbon economy,” she said.

Unfortunately, the federal government has ignored the problem in recent years, placing the U.S. at a disadvantage to other countries like China, which is already taking the lead in solar and wind. Yellen said that the American Jobs Plan would address this issue “by investing in new energy infrastructure and supporting research and development that will incentivize innovation in renewable energy technologies.”