Economic Data Is Now Less Trustworthy

Wall Street Journal: “Trump’s move throws the quality of America’s statistical apparatus into question. The immediate worry among economists and former officials following Trump’s move was that it opened the door for the economic data to be distorted for political reasons. Federal Reserve officials rely on U.S. economic statistics to make timely decisions on setting monetary policy, while investors and businesses depend on them to allocate capital efficiently.”

Said economist Justin Wolfers: You can’t bend economic reality, but you can break the trust of markets. And biased data yields worse policy.”