Description

The trailblazing story of Janet Yellen the Ruth Bader Ginsburg of economics and her lifelong advocacy for an economics of empathy that delivers the fruits of a prosperous society to people at the bottom half of the economic ladder

When President Biden announced Janet Yellen as his choice for secretary of the treasury it was the peak moment of a remarkable life Not only the first woman in the more than twocentury history of the office Yellen is the first person to hold all three top economic policy jobs in the United States chair of both the Federal Reserve and the Presidents Council of Economic Advisors as well as treasury secretary

Through Owen Ullmanns intimate portrait we glean two remarkable aspects of Yellens approach to economics first her commitment to putting those on the bottom half of the economic ladder at the center of economic policy and employing forwardlooking ideas to use the power of government to create a more prosperous productive life for everyone And second her ability to maintain humanity in a Washington policy world where fierce political combat casts others as either friend or enemy never more so than in our current age of polarization

As Ullmann takes us through Yellens life and work we clearly see her brilliance and meticulous preparation What stands out though is Yellen as an icon of progressthe Ruth Bader Ginsburg of economicsa superbyetdifferent kind of player in a cold maledominated profession that all too often devises policies to benefit the already welltodo With humility and compassion as her trademarks we see the influence of Yellens father a physician whose paywhatyoucan philosophy meant never turning anyone away That compassion rooted in her family life in Brooklyn now extends across our entire country