Caracas on the Potomac – Paul Krugman
9 months ago
- #corruption
- #Trump administration
- #economic data
- Trump administration has been corrupting institutions that produce inconvenient information, including economic data.
- The recent jobs report showed a rapidly slowing economy, contradicting Trump's claims of a strong economy.
- Trump fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) without evidence, accusing her of manipulating numbers.
- The BLS is a crucial source for economic data, including unemployment rates and inflation measures.
- The BLS is known for its professionalism and nonpartisanship, but Trump's actions undermine its credibility.
- Firing the BLS commissioner signals to staff to avoid reporting bad news, compromising data integrity.
- Private surveys may become more reliable than official data if BLS integrity is compromised.
- This move could also affect Social Security cost-of-living adjustments by underreporting inflation.
- The firing may ironically worsen employment numbers by further eroding trust in official data.