Trump Fired America’s Economic Data Collector. History Shows the Perils.

When President Donald Trump didn’t like the weak jobs numbers that were released Friday, he fired the person responsible for producing them.

It was a move with few precedents in the century-long history of economic statistics in the United States. And for good reason: When political leaders meddle in government data, it rarely ends well.

There is the case of Greece, where the government faked deficit numbers for years, contributing to a debilitating debt crisis that required multiple rounds of bailouts. The country then criminally prosecuted the head of statistical agency when he insisted on reporting the true figures, further eroding the country’s international standing.

There is the case of China, where earlier this century local authorities manipulated data to hit growth targets mand