Treasury Secretary Yellen visits NC to talk inflation. But first, she went for a drive.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen came to Wake County on Thursday where she got behind the wheel of an electric Mustang, toured the newest Wake Tech campus, and lunched at Sam Jones BBQ in Raleigh.
Accompanied by Gov. Roy Cooper, Yellen was in the Triangle to praise the clean energy initiatives of the Inflation Reduction Act, a sweeping 2022 law backed by the Biden-Harris administration.
U.S. voters say inflation is a top issue heading into the upcoming election. During her speech at the Wake Technical Community College — East Campus in Wendell, Yellen noted rates have “significantly declined,” with the Consumer Price Index, a key inflation metric, currently at around 3%, down from its peak of 9.1% in June 2022.
“That said, our administration knows that prices for key household expenses — things like health care, housing, energy — they’re still too high, and bringing them down, the costs of these essentials, is our administration’s top economic priority,” she said.
This summer, the IRS released data showing 3.4 million U.S. families have thus far claimed tax credits to fund environment-focused residential projects like installing solar panels, heat pumps, insulation and more efficient air conditioning. About 90,000 households in North Carolina obtained these credits.
Responding to Yellen’s visit, the communications team for North Carolina Republican Senate Leader Phil Berger posted on X data from the Federal Reserve Bank indicating household energy costs have increased more than 33% in the past four years.
Wake Tech was an intentional first stop on Yellen’s Triangle trip. The school is seeking clean energy tax credits through the Inflation Reduction Act to help fund construction projects like electric vehicle charging stations and a central energy plant on the new East campus, which Wake Tech opened in April.
After a guided tour with Cooper and Democratic U.S. Reps. Deborah Ross and Wiley Nickel, Yellen took an electric Ford Mustang for a short ride. In addition to funding EV charging stations, the IRA gave $7,500 tax credits toward eligible electric vehicle purchases.
Having focused her remarks on inflation, Yellen addressed the possibility of lower interest rates during a media briefing. While explaining that the Federal Reserve makes “their own independent judgment” on interest rates, she pointed out that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has indicated the central bank is positioned to drop rates.
Following her lunch at Sam Jones, Yellen was scheduled to meet with members of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce to discuss the Biden-Harris administration’s economic agenda.
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