Team Biden: It’$ OK, really

Top officials in the Biden administration made the rounds on the Sunday news shows to tout the strength of the economy and downplay the likelihood of a recession — an assessment at odds with that of some CEOs and economists.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen claimed on ABC that a recession is not inevitable, though she foresees the US economy slowing down in the months ahead.

“Well, I expect the economy to slow, it’s been growing at a very rapid rate as the economy — as the labor market has recovered and we have reached full employment, it’s natural now that we expect to transition to steady and stable growth. But I don’t think recession is at all inevitable,” Yellen said on ABC News’ “This Week.”

The priorities of President Biden and Fed Chair Jerome Powell are to lower the high rate of inflation while maintaining a strong labor market, she said.

Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, echoed Yellen’s optimism — even as he acknowledged that Americans pulling up to the pump and seeing the shock of gas prices around $5 a gallon “creates some uncertainty and creates real economic hardship.”

“But at the same time, it is important as Americans that we recognize the unique strengths that we have in this economy,” he said on “Fox News Sunday,” noting the unemployment rate of 3.6% and low mortgage and credit-card delinquencies.

“As we move through this transition, not only is a recession not inevitable, but what we as policymakers can do is take steps to build on our unique strengths in the American economy and try to get to that stable and steady growth that we all want to get to as quickly as possible,” Deese said.