[A] major source of wealth for many families is financial assets, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and private pensions. ...the wealthiest 5 percent of households held nearly two-thirds of all such assets in 2013 Janet Yellen More Quotes by Janet Yellen More Quotes From Janet Yellen Listening to others, especially those with whom we disagree, tests our own ideas and beliefs. It forces us to recognize, with humility, that we don't have a monopoly on the truth. Janet Yellen listening-to-others humility graduation I think it is appropriate to ask whether this trend is compatible with values rooted in our nation's history, among them the high value Americans have traditionally placed on equality of opportunity. Janet Yellen trends opportunity thinking If it were possible to take interest rates into negative territory I would be voting for that. Janet Yellen voting would-be negative For my own part, I did not see and did not appreciate what the risks were with securitization, the credit ratings agencies, the shadow banking system, the S.I.V.’s — I didn’t see any of that coming until it happened. Janet Yellen agency appreciate risk In government institutions and in teaching, you need to inspire confidence. To achieve credibility, you have to very clearly explain what you are doing and why. The same principles apply to businesses. Janet Yellen government teaching inspire To me, a wise and humane policy is occasionally to let inflation rise even when inflation is running above target. Janet Yellen target wise running It slightly worries me that when people find a problem, they rush to judgment of what to do. Janet Yellen problem worry people The past few decades of widening inequality can be summed up as significant income and wealth gains for those at the very top and stagnant living standards for the majority. Janet Yellen majority gains past Will capitalist economies operate at full employment in the absence of routine intervention? Certainly not. Janet Yellen capitalist-economy routine employment We do not interpret bitcoin's popularity as having a relationship with the public's view of the Federal Reserve's conduct of monetary policy Janet Yellen bitcoin popularity views Long-term unemployment can make any worker progressively less employable, even after the economy strengthens. Janet Yellen economy unemployment long I'm just opposed to a pure inflation-only mandate in which the only thing a central bank cares about is inflation and not employment. Janet Yellen inflation employment care Inequality has risen to the point that it seems to me worthwhile for the U.S. to seriously consider taking the risk of making our economy more rewarding for more of the people. Janet Yellen economy risk people My bottom line is that monetary policy should react to rising prices for houses or other assets only insofar as they affect the central bank's goal variables - output, employment, and inflation. Janet Yellen rising-prices goal house The distribution of wealth is even more unequal than that of income. ...The wealthiest 5% of American households held 54% of all wealth reported in the 1989 survey. Their share rose to 61% in 2010 and reached 63% in 2013. By contrast, the rest of those in the top half of the wealth distribution families that in 2013 had a net worth between $81,000 and $1.9 million held 43% of wealth in 1989 and only 36% in 2013. Janet Yellen income half rose In the long run, outsourcing is another form of trade that benefits the U.S. economy by giving us cheaper ways to do things. Janet Yellen running giving long Productivity growth, however it occurs, has a disruptive side to it. In the short term, most things that contribute to productivity growth are very painful. Janet Yellen growth painful sides Strapped by tight credit and plummeting sales, businesses have overhauled the way they manage supply chains, inventory, production practices, and staffing. Janet Yellen inventory practice way The average net worth of the lower half of the distribution, representing 62 million households, was $11,000 in 2013. About one-fourth of these families reported zero wealth or negative net worth, and a significant fraction of those said they were "underwater" on their home mortgages, owing more than the value of the home. This $11,000 average is 50 percent lower than the average wealth of the lower half of families in 1989, adjusted for inflation. Janet Yellen zero home average By some estimates, income and wealth inequality are near their highest levels in the past hundred years, much higher than the average during that time span and probably higher than for much of American history before then. Janet Yellen average past years
