Still no sticker shock, Janet?
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was spotted stocking up on groceries on Saturday — after dismissing a question about inflation and rising food prices earlier this week.
Yellen, 77, and her husband, economist George Akerlof, stopped by a Giant Food store in Washington, DC, after grabbing lunch at Japanese restaurant Raku.
The millionaire couple had six security people in tow but pushed their own carts full of reusable Fresh Direct grocery bags out of the store after stocking up.
Yellen — who is worth an estimated $20 million — drew criticism this week when she appeared to dismiss concerns about rising grocery prices in the US.
“Have you been to the grocery store lately?” Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger asked during the Monday sit-down.
“I sure have — I go every week,” Yellen replied.
“It’s sticker shock, isn’t it? Just when you look at shipping costs, those have come down, global food commodity prices have also come down, but food prices still remain high. Should the US invest in agriculture to boost the food supply in this country?” Schonberger asked.
Yellen, however, started to say “No” before Schonberger even finished the question.
“I think largely it reflects cost increases, including labor cost increases that grocery firms have experienced, although there may be some increases in margins,” Yellen reasoned, adding that she had met with several grocery CEOs who said they were cutting costs on essentials like bread and milk.
“I think that’s to be applauded, I think that kind of thing is helpful, but I would be reluctant to agree that we should be centralizing agriculture,” she opined.
