Janet Yellen makes first TV appearance

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has made her first appearance on late night television.

She appeared on CBS Wednesday night with Stephen Colbert.

Yellen talked about the economy and the Federal Reserve, but Colbert had a very pressing question for her.

The host asked.

Yellen has been secretary of state since January 2021, but her signature has yet to appear on currency.

Colbert pointed out that former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's name is still on the bills.

There are two signatures on bills, the other one being the treasurer, who had not been named until September of this past.

President Biden appointed Lynn Malerba the treasurer of the United States. Chief Malerba is the first Native American to serve as treasurer.

Yellen says she is going to Fort Worth, Texas next week to see the first sheets of currency with both of their names.

She said she practiced and practiced. Tim Geithner and Jack Lew signed the currency and their signatures were so illegible that people made fun of them, Yellen said. I knew this was something you could screw up, and I wanted to get it right. Colbert asked Yellen about the state of the economy and inflation.

"I believe there is a path to bring inflation down while maintaining a strong healthy labor market," said Yellen. Growth has slowed and we had a rapid recovery. I expect the pace of job creation to slow down when the unemployment rate is close to the lowest in 50 years. All the elements that have contributed to inflation were listed by Yellen.

I think we can take the heat out of the economy by remembering that Russia has waged a brutal war against Ukraine and that caused gas prices to spike, and food prices to spike. It is creating hardship all over the world, said Yellen. We're trying to address those strains as well, that's another reason inflation went up and we're trying to hold that down. The collapse of FTX was a Lehman moment for the sector, but there hasn't been much contagion to the real economy. There is a need for more regulation of the sector, as investors have lost a lot of money.