'Alternative facts' a threat to US economic policymaking

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has an obvious problem with data that he doesn't like, as he showed on his first full day in office, by attacking the media for reporting accurately the size of the crowd that attended his inauguration. It should be no less obvious that this same reliance on "alternative facts" poses a severe threat in the realm of economic policymaking.

The number of people who attended the inauguration - far less than Mr Trump wanted to believe - could easily be inferred from the available evidence. But the discussion has now broadened to the more serious question of whether millions of people voted illegally, as Mr Trump has insisted since the election. He has implicitly conceded that he lost the popular vote by nearly three million votes, but maintained, despite all evidence to the contrary, that massive voter fraud occurred.

Mr Trump is calling for a full investigation, and Democrats should welcome any opportunity to have experts weigh the evidence carefully. But the real danger must be fully appreciated: Mr Trump is not alone in his self-serving disregard for reality. Other prominent Republicans, including in the House of Representatives, have been living in their own world for some time.