Janet Yellen to Ralph Nader: Savers would've been worse off with higher rates
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen wrote a letter to Ralph Nader, defending the central bank's nearly seven years of zero interest rates, after the consumer advocate last month blasted her for keeping interest rates low. Yellen said that while the Fed is aware of the hardship on seniors and others that rely on fixed income, the higher returns on deposits would not have offset the more dramatic declines in the value of their homes and retirement accounts. She repeated that if the economy expands, the job market makes progress and inflation moves toward the 2% target, the Fed will begin to normalize interest rates but do so at a gradual pace.
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