During her confirmation hearing Thursday, Janet Yellen, President Obama's nominee to become chairman of the Federal Reserve, said she will pursue policies that hurt people who try to build up wealth, claiming that impoverishing savers serves the collective good of society.

"I understand that savers are hurt by this policy," Yellen said under questioning from Republican Nebraska Sen. Mike Johanns about low interest rates.

Johanns told Yellen that her policies "are very, very hard on certain segments of our society."

"You know, explain to the senior citizen who is just hoping that a CD will earn some money so they don't have to dig into the principle," Johanns asked, "what impact you're having on a policy that says we're going to — for as far as the eye can see or foreseeable future — keep interest rates low."

"They are hurt by that policy," the senator added.

Yellen said she agreed. "But you know, if we want to get back to business as usual and a normal monetary policy and normal interest rates, I would say we need to do that by getting the economy back to normal."

She also suggested savers should be willing to see their wealth eaten away for what the Federal Reserve considers the greater good of society.

She argued that savers "play many different roles in the economy" and if they "take into account the broader array of interests they have in a strong economy, they would see that these policies — even though they may harm them in one respect — are broadly beneficial to them as I believe they are to all Americans."