How Trump’s Plans Could Undermine Confidence in Critical Government Economic Data | Global News Avenue

Some experts worry that President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to “crush the deep state” by giving the White House more power to fire federal workers could undermine trust in the accuracy of economic statistics produced by the government.

Trump has pledged to eliminate “rogue bureaucrats” from the government by implementing policies introduced in the final days of his first administration. In 2020, Trump instituted a new employment classification for federal workers called “Schedule F,” which gave the president more authority to hire and fire workers, replacing the merit-based Civil Service Commission.

Critics say enforcing the policy, which President Joe Biden reversed early in his administration, would allow Trump to replace career employees with loyalists.

One of those critics is Erica Groshen, a former commissioner on the commission. Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) 2013 to 2017, during Obama’s second term. Groshen argued that replacing agency leaders with political appointees would keep the unemployment rate in check. create jobsinflation and wages are less reliable.

“Data users must be able to trust that statistics are objective and accurate,” she told Investopedia in an interview. “This would seriously undermine trust in objectivity and reduce the quality of the statistics.”

Reliable data is critical for decision makers

Erosion in the quality or reliability of data produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Census Bureau and other government agencies can cause serious problems for businesses, investors and other policymakers who rely on these data to gauge the health of the economy.

Keith Hall, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) under George W. Bush, also publicly opposed placing Schedule F employees in the bureau.

“I think it’s my job to protect working professionals,” Hall told market in an interview in October. “I don’t think you want statistical agencies to back off when they have to publish bad news or hide bad news. If you bring in too much politics, if you do Schedule F things, I think you run into danger.”

The Trump transition team did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

Concerns about non-statistical priorities

Groshen worries that non-statistical priorities based on political or financial considerations may be introduced, unqualified leaders may be hired, and overall institutional standards may suffer.

“Without proper review and transparency, you can spin a (data) release narrative. You can expedite or pause releases at will. You can have special, early or fine-grained access to statistics or data for non-statistical purposes,” she said.

Trump himself has accused the Bureau of Labor Statistics of cooking the books under President Joe Biden.

In August, the authorities downward revision In a routine annual adjustment, Trump posted on his social media site that it was proof the government had been “deceptively manipulating employment statistics.”

Trump offered no evidence of wrongdoing. Fact-checkers at the nonpartisan Poynter Institute deemed the claim a lie.

Merging statistical agencies could be positive

Schedule F is not the only Trump policy proposal that could affect federal economic reports.

Plan 2025, the Trump administration’s policy blueprint produced by the influential Heritage Foundation think tank, calls for a number of changes, including merging the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis into a single statistical agency.

It also recommends that the Bureau of Labor Statistics report household-related statistics more regularly, including increasing the frequency of annual reports detailing household circumstances. Various household expenses.

Groshen said consolidating statistical agencies is a good idea and that collecting more household-related statistics could be useful, but noted that such efforts would have to be funded somehow.