Economic chickens do come home to roost. August 1’s disappointing July job statistics and downward correction of the two previous months were serious bad news. They fit with the uncertainty Donald J Trump’s tariff madness and dithering has caused everyone. If you’re importing cars or making widgets that use foreign-made components you’d be wise to wait to see what costs and possible prices might be.
Dozens of presidents have seen good and bad numbers and tried to explain them, probably not always honestly.
They haven’t shot the messenger. DJT’s response is to fire the Bureau of Labor Statistics head. Joseph Stalin also punished statisticians when data didn’t match his hopes. Salting economic data sank Argentina and Greece. Given the years of trust that led many folks around the world to rely on the apolitical and objective standard Trump just tossed in the fire, we may never know the full depth of the harm.
Is this the start of the slowdown, or ”stagflation,” (weakening economy yet also inflation) economists have predicted? How much worse will it get? Will Trump respond with more reasonable tariffs? Will the Fed now have to lower interest rates to help repair the damage? As voters have trouble paying higher prices with unraised salaries or lost jobs blame Mr. Trump, or the hated Democrats? Accurate information would help folks answer fair questions.
But DJT is carefully killing all the messengers.
He dislikes the science on climate craziness, and therefore fires scientists, asks the Supreme Court to forget its decision on the subject, and removes solid information from the EPA’s website.
He resents that he was impeached (though not quite convicted). Therefore the Smithsonian’s exhibit on presidential impeachments removes reference to Trump’s two, which are that historical fact.
He started by firing seventeen inspectors-general Congress carefully legislated into existence to keep presidents and departments from breaking laws. Previously strong Republican Senate supporters of the inspectors-general, like Iowa’s Chuck Grassley, wimped out.
He dislikes the independent Federal Reserve Bank’s sensible reluctance to lower interest rates in the present financial context, and so he wants to fire the Fed chief.
His Department of Justice lawyers lie so frequently and baldly that judges, grand juries, and defense lawyers no longer trust the DOJ. All lawyers try to present the best case for their clients; but most competent lawyers try to make their exaggerations reasonable. Our court system depends on some minimum ethical standards, which these folks refuse to meet.
We are supposedly a democratic republic. A democratic republic requires informed voters. I think 90% of our population would agree: let’s look honestly at the facts, then make decisions, on which, of course, we might disagree; but let’s be in the same zip code as the facts.
Mr. Trump is systematically removing all independent sources of those facts.
That’s a quantum leap from just explaining stuff in a way that makes you not look so bad. Like the difference between claiming the wind and a photographer and bad luck caused you to shoot a 12-over-par 84 – versus crossing out scores and saying you shot 70. The difference between making excuses for a senseless war in Viet Nam that killed 58,000 U.S. soldiers – and erasing the casualty figures to claim that only a couple of dozen died. Or, better, getting so tired of making excuses for losing to the Yankees that you hire new umpires paid by your team, not the American League.
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[The above column appeared Sunday, 10 August, 2025, in the Las Cruces Sun-News, and on the newspaper's website and the KRWG website (under Local Viewpoints). A shortened and sharpened radio commentary version of this Sunday column will air during the week on KRWG (90.1 FM) and on KTAL-LP (101.5 FM / http://www.lccommunityradio.org/). That website also contains station show archives.]
[Trump added another level of idiocy – or dementia – by criticizing Joe Biden for appointing the Federal Reserve Bank’s President, whom Trump appointed.]
[Inspired by our president, I knew just what to do when I received an exorbitant electric bill this week. I shot the postman, though we liked him. Then I blew up that damned Smart Meter. We couldn’t have used THAT MUCH juice last month!]
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| You bring me a bill that high again, you're toast! |
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