Trump might make the nation’s data disappear, but he can’t change reality

It is becoming more and more difficult to secure federal data that measures the condition of our nation. This has become most apparent by how different government agencies are being influenced by President Trump and his administration. Recall the firing of the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the president this summer when a labor report did not shine a favorable light on the job market. Then the Environmental Protection Agency stopped collecting data in the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. Now, even economic reports are being cancelled. These are all direct attacks on data collection and statistics, a field that lies at the foundation of any well-functioning democracy. Statistics is a branch of applied mathematics that focuses on collecting and analyzing data to gain an understanding of the condition of a system. Data collection is akin to videotaping what is happening in a rearview mirror; it provides a record of the past. Statistical methodologies make sense of such data. They may include providing graphical representations (descriptive statistics) or drawing conclusions about the system or providing estimates of the system measures (inferential statistics). Statistics is a core STEM discipline. It is also foundational to the field of artificial intelligence. For example, large language models are complex statistical models trained using massive amounts of data that permit generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini to answer questions and perform numerous other simple communication tasks. Anytime data and statistics are ignored or compromised, the underpinnings of a well-functioning society are at risk of manipulation. Statistics permit the condition of a society to be measured, providing transparency and the ability to draw conclusions. If an activity is not measured, then it is difficult to assess its strengths and limitations. Without statistics, unlawful activities can be hidden and obfuscated. Large and complex societies require an abundance of data to be collected to assess their condition. Gross domestic product, for instance, measures a country’s economic output, and permits countries to be compared and evaluated using a common baseline measure, such as per capita GDP, which takes a country’s GDP and divides it by the country’s population. In 2024, the GDP of China was $19.4 trillion, second only to the U.S., with a GDP of $30.6 trillion. However, the population of China is more than four times larger than the U.S. population, making China’s per capita GDP significantly smaller. Many economic indicators are captured using data collected by the federal government. This includes inflation, the money supply, the population, the job market, and in public health, the spread of seasonal influenza, to name just a few. Without such data, it would be impossible to evaluate the direction in which the country is moving, the well-being of the population, and the impact of government expenditures. There are around 100 federal agencies that either have the words “data” or “statistics” in their name, or collect data and report statistics about various facets of our nation. For example, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics collects data related to transportation, including how people and goods move around the nation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collect data that informs public health and well-being. The Bureau of Labor Statistics collects data to “measure labor market activity, working conditions, price changes, and productivity in the U.S. economy to support public and private decision making.” By design, the data collection and analysis within these agencies must be politically agnostic, using well-defined statistical methodologies to measure the condition of the systems they are charged to track. The firing of the Labor Statistics commissioner back in August because the president did not like the number of jobs created in July is akin to “killing the messenger because you do not like the message.” Now, if the president wants different numbers, all he needs to do is report anything he wants to, with no data to support his statements. But politicizing data reporting by any government agency is dangerous, making it more difficult to assess the condition of the economy and whatever else is being measured. The ripple effect will be felt by every country across the world, given that the United States accounts for around one-quarter of the world GDP. Attacks on reliable data collection and statistical analysis of this data undermine the credibility, reliability and trustworthiness of our nation. Such attacks covertly remove power from our nation’s citizens. Moreover, the health and the wellbeing of the population will be compromised. Anything that is not measured is effectively nonexistent, much like the question of whether a tree that falls in a forest makes a sound. When elected officials dismiss data collection and statistics that have met the test of time yet tell a story that they dislike, they are effectively waging a civil war within our nation. Sheldon H. Jacobson, Ph.D., is a computer science professor in the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As a data scientist, he uses his expertise in risk-based analytics to address problems in public policy.