BLS and Our Age of Choose-Your-Own-Reality Governance
9 months ago
- #Economic Data
- #Trump
- #Governance
- Donald Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for reporting unfavorable job growth data.
- Politicizing economic data undermines public trust in government-reported statistics.
- Historical examples include Mao Zedong firing Peng Dehuai for criticizing the Great Leap Forward and Argentina manipulating inflation statistics.
- Argentina's fabricated inflation data led to economic misjudgments, including incorrect GDP and poverty estimates.
- The Trump administration has also suppressed climate change data and dismantled vaccine advisory committees.
- Manipulating independent agencies threatens transparency and trust, essential for liberal democracy.
- Changes in data reporting methodologies can invalidate historical comparisons and reduce data utility.
- Political interference in data collection risks creating partisan versions of economic and scientific data.
- The erosion of data integrity could deter investment and harm economic decision-making.