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Nobel-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz: Trump firing BLS head 'like driving a car with no odometer' - Velshi - MSNBC
After a weak jobs report on Friday, Trump responded by firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But as Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz tells Ali Velshi, ignoring bad numbers doesn’t make the problem go away. Instead, it’s more “like driving a car with no odometer,” Stiglitz says.
He shares an anecdote from his time on the Council of Economic Advisers, advising President Bill Clinton. Stiglitz explains that Clinton once attempted to influence his analysis, to which Stiglitz says he replied, “The preservation of the independence of the statistical agencies is of first order importance, and you, Mr. President, cannot change this.”
Clinton accepted this, but Trump, Stiglitz says, does not. Because of Trump’s political pressure on independent economic agencies like the BLS and the Federal Reserve, Stiglitz warns, “confidence in the US dollar and confidence in the US economy will erode.” - Aired on 08/03/2025.