EXCERPT:
YELLEN: "I agree with you that there is a disconnect, and I don’t have a simple and convincing answer. But Americans have been through a lot. The pandemic really took a toll on American families, on children, on households. We are enjoying a remarkable recovery, but also with high inflation, much of it reflecting supply bottlenecks that developed during the pandemic, and then with Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine we saw a surge in gas prices, in food prices. Americans have been reeling from high inflation. They do realize in polls that it is coming down. And Americans’ financial situation actually improved during the pandemic. Interestingly, when Americans are asked about their own personal financial situation, they’re positive on that. The negative results you cite mainly reflect their answers to how is the economy more broadly doing.“