More Post-Menopausal Matriarchy

 

indianexpress.com

Tuesday, July 19, 2022 US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will be giving a speech in Seoul, South Korea meant to encourage Asian and Pacific allies to adopt a skeptical attitude toward business with "China". The address has been given to the media prior to its personal delivery by the former official of the US Federal Reserve and head of the US Council of Economic Advisers:

____________________________________

 US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will call on Tuesday for deeper trade ties among allies to fortify their supply chains, combat inflation and thwart China’s “unfair trade practices” and efforts to dominate key raw materials and technologies markets.

 “We cannot allow countries like China to use their market position in key raw materials, technologies or products to disrupt our economy and exercise unwanted geopolitical leverage,” Yellen will say, according to excerpts released by the Treasury Department.

______________________________________

 

The soon-to-be 76 year-old lady has a 51 year background in academia that apparently doesn't contain much study of the principles of Adam Smith.

While China is a country with a one-party political system and elements of a command economy, Chinese trade isn't between the country as a whole and other nations. All trade is ultimately between individuals and cannot take place unless both sides of the bargain agree. The "unwanted geopolitical leverage" of which Yellen complains means that one participant is unhappy with the terms of a bargain. If a consumer is upset that a filet of Ahi tuna is more expensive than he can afford, what are his viable options? Perhaps one might be to intimidate the fleet of the fishery folk with the possibility of sinking its vessels. Or he might grill swordfish steaks rather than tuna at his next soiree. 

Janet Yellen has been eligible for Social Security benefits for fourteen years. While she may have been the sharpest knife in the drawer when she accepted a teaching position at Harvard in 1971 the forces of human biology have been at work in the many years since. She's a little old lady with limited experience in the world at large. It's ridiculous that she not only has an important role in the day-to-day life of Americans but also others in the world who are unaware of her existence.