Paul Krugman Warns Of ‘Bad Things’ To Come After Trump’s Firing Of Top Stats Official

“This is the playbook. We’ve seen it many, many times. And now I have to say, faster even than I expected, it’s come to America,” said the famed economist.

Famed economist Paul Krugman has warned why Donald Trump’s firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Dr. Erika McEntarfer ― after the president accused her (without evidence) of manipulating jobs data, following a weak jobs report ― could be a sign of “bad things” to come for the U.S. economy.

The BLS may not be a “household phrase but it is absolutely critical” to the functioning and decision-making of the U.S. government because “everything that we know about what’s happening to the economy in the last couple of months” comes from it, Krugman told MSNBC’s Ari Melber.

“If you start to corrupt those numbers, if you start to report those numbers as being what makes the president look good instead of what’s actually happening, then bad things start happening,” the 2008 winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences continued.

Krugman explained how countries have historically suffered hyperinflation because officials start “ordering the statistical agencies to report nothing but puppies and rainbows.” By the time they finally admit they may have a problem, they’re already “at 80% inflation,” he added.

“This is the playbook,” Krugman noted. “We’ve seen it many, many times. And now I have to say, faster even than I expected, it’s come to America.”