Donald Trump won the White House in part because of his promise to remake the US economy. Now even those who voted for him should be worried about him keeping that promise.
From the apparent backroom deals with individual companies, to pushing the limits of anti-nepotism laws, to installing superrich and inexperienced political allies in his Cabinet, Trump's transition has set the stage for a sharp turn away from the rules and norms that have long defined how the US economy—and, in turn, the US itself—has been run for a half-century or more. And in its place, something else appears to be emerging, a system based on, well, cronies.
"Trump is consciously or unconsciously creating the conditions in which crony capitalism or outright corruption could thrive," says Simon Johnson, an economics professor at MIT and a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund.
The danger, economists say, is that the emerging Trump system not only risks corruption but also could damage the basic mechanics of the American economy, creating stronger incentives for companies to focus their efforts on gaining favor with the government rather than winning customers through efficiency and innovation.
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