A blow to Putin.
One penny is
all it takes to buy
an entire Russian ruble.
Russia's currency hitting a 17 month
low against the US dollar.
In fact,
the ruble has lost
nearly 40% of its value so far this year.
And in Russia,
people are taking
notice of this milestone.
Just look at this news ticker.
This is from Sergei.
It's a Siberian oil town.
I noticed this Max Seddon
of the Financial Times,
a friend of the show, flagged it online.
We verified it, geolocated it.
Someone put in text
that reads, quote, 100 rubles to a dollar
Lost your effing mind.
Putin is an expletive and a thief.
OUTFRONT now, the U.S.
Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen.
And Secretary, I appreciate your time.
And I wanted to ask you about the ruble
in just a moment.
I wanted to begin, though,
of course, with the US
economy, where you're marking
the one year
anniversary of President Biden's
Inflation Reduction Act.
It does come, though, as gas
prices once again are soaring.
The average price of a gallon
of regular hit $3. $0.85.
It is its highest level in nearly
ten months, up $0.28
from just one month ago.
How worried are you about this, Secretary
Well, we have seen some increase,
partly because of the summer
driving season and global factors.
But gas prices are down
off their highs so for a dollar 20.
So of course
this is an area of uncertainty but
we're certainly well off the highs.
And more broadly,
inflation has come way down.
Something that's
been a tremendous concern to Americans
over the last three months.
Inflation, both headline and poor,
has been running just around 2%
So I think the inflation news has been
overall excellent.
Well, there is still risks.
We've got a good, strong labor market
with unemployment
at a 50 year
low of three and a half percent
and the economy continues to grow.
So, you know, as you point out,
the rate of inflation has been plunging.
It's a fair point.
Last month,
consumer prices were up
3.2% compared to July of last year.
A year ago,
and you looked at the same thing,
July to July, prices were up 8.5%.
So obviously,
it is a huge improvement, as you say.
But but
the direction is still
a green arrow, right?
According to Moody's,
the typical household spent $202
more last month on the same goods
and services than it did a year ago.
$709 more than two years ago.
So the rate of inflation has plunged,
but prices are still going up.
And these are huge numbers
for American families.
It's real hardship.
What do you say to those families?
Can you tell them that
prices will actually go down
So I don't want to say
that the level of prices will go down,
but I think inflation
will subside to rates
that are quite normal and
within the range that the Fed
is seeking to target.
President Biden has worked with Congress
and within the administration to do
what we can to lower
prices and give Americans relief
and the inflation and Reduction Act
had many features to do that,
including cuts in health
insurance, premiums
in drug prices,
the cost of insulin was capped.
It's $35 a month.
And,
you know, we're working oil releases
last year
from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,
I think made a big difference to
the gas prices people had to pay.
But inflation remains a problem.
That we're focused on.
And on that front,
I mean, the economy is by far
the top issue for Americans
in this election.
The latest CNN poll,
Secretary Yellen, shows
that 75% of Americans
believe the economy is in poor condition.
And maybe that's because,
again, even though
inflation rates have come down,
they are still paying more.
63% of people in this poll disapprove
of how President Biden
is handling the economy.
What do you say, Secretary Allen,
to the clear
majority of Americans
who simply do not believe
that the administration is helping them
Well, you
know, Americans
know best,
I think the best
their own personal finances.
And it is important to recognize that
when they're asked,
how were they personally doing?
Over 70% of Americans
say that
they're very comfortable
with their financial situation.
So they seem to perceive the economy
as a whole, as doing list
worlds in New York personally.
But most Americans
feel good
about their own economic situation.
And, of course, I'm here in Nevada today
to talk to people about
President Biden's economic plan over
the last year.
Are real
wages have been rising
in almost all sectors of the economy.
And the biggest gains
have gone
to low income workers who have seen
a significant reduction in inequality.
The secretary, as I mentioned
a few moments ago,
the ruble hit a 17 month
low against the U.S. dollar.
One penny is an entire ruble.
That news ticker
in that Siberian oil town of Sagot
calling Putin out over it.
Who knows what happened
with those hacked into or not,
but there it was in Siberia.
100 rubles to a dollar Lost your mind.
Putin is an expletive and a thief.
Now, Secretary,
you have repeatedly said
that Putin's invasion of Ukraine
is a big economic negative for the world.
And here we are,
nearly a year and a half into the war.
How much impact
do you think it is
having now on Americans
Well, it
continues to have impact on Americans.
Beyond the money
that we're spending to support Ukraine,
The cutoff
of Ukrainian grain
from Russia's decision to in the Baltic
Green Initiative is pushing up
food prices
with the biggest toll
in the poorest countries of the world.
And it
continues to have some impact
on gas prices.
But as you mentioned,
the ruble
has declined in value,
which is a reflection of the fact
that our sanctions,
our program of sanctions with our allies
and the war
is causing a drain
on the Russian economy.
So I want to ask you one more thing.
You recently were in China
you ate dinner at a restaurant
chain called In and out.
And I should say to Americans
not to be confused with the burger joint,
I see you smiling.
You set
off a frenzy
because you ordered a mushroom dish
that contains
apparently what are considered
magic mushrooms,
mushrooms that can be hallucinogenic.
And so now these wild mushroom
dishes are selling out
at that restaurant's
branches across China.
You have have sparked all this.
May I ask you I'm just quite curious.
What was it like, the mushroom experience
So I went with this large
group of people,
and the person who arranged our dinner
did the ordering.
There was a delicious mushroom dish.
I was not aware that these mushrooms
had hallucinogenic properties.
I learned that later.
I could tell you later,
like when you were sleeping
and having visions or
really I was worried
that if the mushrooms
are cooked properly,
which I'm sure they were,
it's this very good restaurant
that they have no impact.
But all of us enjoyed the mushrooms,
the restaurant,
and none of us still felt any ill effects
from having eaten them.
All right.
Well,
and now they're now they're selling out
in and out China.
Well, Secretary Yellin,
thanks so much for your time.
I appreciate it.
You bet.
Thanks Erin.