Treasury secretary visits Michigan Central Station during Detroit trip, touts economic gains

DETROIT (FOX 2) - US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made a stop in Michigan after a previous stop in Pittsburgh.

She was trying to sell current economic conditions in the US, and consumer confidence may have improved, but not enough for President Joe Biden.

"Inflation has come down and wages have gone up, we really are seeing in surveys," Yellen said. "Of course, the University of Michigan survey is one of the most important measures of consumer sentiment that has moved sharply higher in recent months."

On her visit Yellen tried to encourage economic enthusiasm for the Biden Administration in a key battleground state ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The Cabinet member joined Governor Gretchen Whitmer and US Senator Debbie Stabenow at two separate events in Detroit.

Yellen is partially right about inflation. What she didn’t say, is that consumer prices rose more than forecasters expected in January.

Soon after, the S&P 500 had its second-biggest daily decline this year, and a pivot by the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, seems tabled in the near term.

"Middle-class families have had a lot of burdens, a lot of things they’re worried about," Yellen said.

US Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Janet Yellen, US Treasury secretary.

The old phrase by political consultant James Carville’s "It’s the economy stupid" succinctly encompasses the high-stakes economic conditions when it comes to a general election. And right now, so-called "kitchen table topics" do not favor President Joe Biden.

Biden is lagging way behind GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump on virtually everything you ask the American people about, including who would better handle the economy. Trump beats Biden by 20 points on that front.

"In many parts of the country jobs have disappeared - childcare is expensive, education is expensive," Yellen said. "They’re worried about healthcare."

The Detroit Economic Club hosted Yellen at Huntington Place.

Before the treasury secretary toured Newlab at Michigan Central Station, the focus was on small business and an opportunity to tout a rise in new business applications across the country.

Related: Michigan governor, treasury secretary talk inflation and finances at Detroit Economic Club

Janet Yellen at Newlab at Michigan Central Station.

"We are not new to that in Michigan, we’re not new to that in Detroit," Stabenow said. We know how to make things, we know how to innovate. We are thrilled to have the secretary here."

While the administration can point to specific positive indicators and metrics - for example, unemployment is low, the economy is growing, the bigger picture remains muddled.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the US is on an unsustainable fiscal path with regards to our record $34 trillion in debt and based on survey data, the American people know it.