Just appointed, already criticized. The new head of the American Statistics and Employment Agency (Office of Labor Statistics – BLS) EJ Antoni, appointed Monday by Donald Trump to replace Erika Mtntarfer, fired in early August by the US president, is far from unanimous.
Economist of the very conservative Foundation of the Center for Reflection, Erwin John Antoni III of his full name is also a fervent defender of the Maga Trumpist movement (“Make America Great Again”). What questions its impartiality at the head of an agency known precisely for its integrity and rented for its factual studies and analysis on employment, inflation, salaries and other crucial economic issues, formulates the New York Times?
The US media reports that economists from different political currents are concerned about the consequences of the appointment of EJ Antoni, which must still be confirmed by the US Senate.
With only 37 years, the new “Mr. Statistics” is an unusual choice according to the New York Times. His predecessors and predecessors to the head of the bls were rather of long careers within the government or even academics. If EJ Antoni is an economy doctor, his CV is mainly composed of works within the Think Tanks with a conservative trend. His research has also focused on tax and social security issues instead of employment and macroeconomy.
Academic gaps
But it is not so much its CV that disturbs its way of understanding the economy and its ability to handle the data to adapt them to their own point of view: partisanist. The economists interviewed by the American Daily Report that EJ Antoni, for example, mentioned the growing number of unemployed people without taking into account retirement, or seemed to ignore that the measure of import prices did not include the consequences of customs tasks.
During his media appearances, especially in Fox Business Network, where he praised the Trump administration and rents the economic profits of his policy, eg Antoni has often criticized the agency he now directs.
A party partisan reading
The people interviewed are concerned about the possible political interference and evoke the danger that would represent the politicization of an agency for the merits of economic decisions and orientations.
The risks of a partisan data reading are, at least for the moment, not founded, according to the sources interviewed. The analyzes are developed by statistics that cross the presidential mandates. However, a BLS commissioner with strong political convictions can influence the reading of the figures in a more or less subtle way. Economists indicate that they will remain attentive to weak signals, such as inexplicable exits in high -level positions or methodology modifications without clear documentation.
However, the reputation of the BLS already seems despised: Donald Trump’s decision to dismiss Erika Mcedarfer and appoint an acquired official to his cause will certainly reinforce many skeptical Americans regarding the impartiality of the analysis.
Source: BFM TV
