The Minister of Finance has frankly admitted that the GDP figures that dominated the economic approach to the previous government are not accurate.
Scott Bessent said that the Trump government is aimed at what the American audience actually feels about the money in their pockets than the team of Joe Biden.
The former hedgefondsbaas argued that Biden made a 'mistake' by rejecting the hardships that consumers actually felt at supermarkets and gas stations.
When he was asked if he believed that the GDP figures and non-agricultural wage lists were accurate on the all-in podcast last week, Bessent replied: “No. They are subject to major revisions over time.
“I thought one of the major mistakes of the Biden administration was that they went with the figures and not what the American people felt.”
The Minister of Finance said that the economic concerns of the public were rejected as merely a 'atmospheric cession' and that Biden told them: “You don't know how good you are.”
Instead, Bessent said that the Trump government would have respect for how [the public] Feel and then we have to go back and look at what causes this fear. '
In the 2024 elections, the concern of Americans who influence their voice was the American economy and their own personal financial hardships. The gas prices were on a record -high and supermarkets rose with hundreds of dollars per month.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that President Donald Trump's government listens more to Americans than economic indicators to influence economic and financial policy
Americans say they feel the most pain in their wallet when it comes to shopping and filling their gas tanks
Since the penetration of his office, Trump has advertised the efforts of his team to reduce the costs of gas and eggs, which rose to the never -before -seen prices.
But Americans still do not feel that they are in a better financial situation and the country is running in the direction of a recession with the markets that have fallen in recent weeks in the midst of a rate war that has been created between Trump and several American trading partners.
Bessent said in his podcast interview that he ensures that the administration listens to Americans, and not just what they see on paper.
“I was in the press yesterday,” he remembered, “and there was something that said,” Well, the American people don't believe that Donald Trump is doing enough about the economy. “And I said to the host, I said,” You know, the only thing I'm not going to answer is that they don't know what they are talking about. “
“I have to respect how they feel, and then we have to go back and look at what causes this fear,” said Bessent and promised, “So that's what we are going to do.”
Podcast co-gastheer Palihapitiya praised the Trump team for the fact that he had a better beat about the fact that this data is not as reliable as other administrations would say they were to do what they wanted to do anyway. '
Bessent agreed with the interviewer and said that the Trump -white house would not use data to justify their actions and listen to Americans instead when they express fear or financial pain.
Bessent (left) joined Chamath Palihapitiya (right) and David Friedberg (center) for an interview on their all-in podcast last week
GDP and non-agricultural payroll are often two indicators that are used to assess how the economy is doing. The latter refers to the change in the number of employees paid in all companies and industries in addition to agriculture.
In February the total American non -agricultural payroll rose by 151,000, according to the US Bureau or Labor Statistics. It represents a slight increase compared to January where they did not increase wage list by 143,000, but an improvement of 1.24 percent compared to last year's statistics.
Moreover, the unemployment rate improved by only 0.3 percent by 4.1 percent Americans without a job.
In the meantime, the GDP figure is representing the total monetary value of all goods and services that are delivered for a specific period within the boundaries of a country – usually one year.
This is the most used indicator of the economic health of a country.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, the American GDP increased by 2.3 percent, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
“The increase in real GDP in the fourth quarter mainly reflected the increase in consumer spending and government spending that were partially compensated by a decrease in investment,” notes the government's analysis. “Import, which are a deduction in the calculation of GDP, decreased.”
An increase in GDP is generally an indication of a flourishing and growing economy.
But Bessent notes how Americans claim that they do not feel that positive impact has hit their pocketbooks.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has tried to adapt to this and offers a model with a rolling update on GDP that, according to him, reflects the real -time changes from month to month instead of annually or per quarter.
'Our GDPNOW prediction model offers a' nucast 'of the official estimate prior to release by estimating the GDP growth using a methodology that is comparable to that of the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, “the website notes.
Since this position has been introduced, GDP has been refueled.
But many are skeptical about the so -called 'Nowcast' and economists say it is not an accurate representation of the true GDP.
Americans are increasingly shocked while markets and investments continue to refuel in the midst of Trump's trade war with several partners in Europe and Canada and China.
This month, Trump imposed a rate of 25 percent on Canada and Mexico and said it was a reaction to the refusal of the countries to act more aggressively when stopping the fentanyl crisis.
He also claimed that the North -American countries of the US benefit and at the same time give little benefit.
Canada has threatened and imposed retribution rates and the Chinese embassy says it is prepared for a trade war – or war war – with the US.
