Speaking at NRF’s virtual show on Wednesday, JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said he fully believes another round of stimulus funds is coming down the pike and would grease the wheels of an economic recovery.
The banking chief hopes any new checks would make their way into the hands of people earnings $15 per hour or less—those who’ve been hit hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic and most need a bit of extra liquidity to stay afloat. Dimon credited the initial bipartisan effort to pass the CARES Act that did a “fabulous job to keep people alive,” aiding small business owners and the newly unemployed.
Dimon said incomes for the upper 60 percent of consumers have been fine, as this cohort benefited from easily transitioning to remote work. People are saving and buying houses, he added, and when the coronavirus pandemic subsides, their healthy financial stores are what could fuel a booming economy.
While Dimon, among the most influential figures in finance, extolled the virtues of the technologies that have enabled the mass work-from-home migration, he’s confident that physical workplaces will continue to play a role in modern professional culture. Though tech might be “the greatest thing to happen to mankind,” as it eliminates much of the back-breaking and menial work that once curtailed lifespans, the CEO is of the mind that Zoom can’t fully replace business as usual. “I can’t wait to get back on the road,” he said.
Dimon denounced the mob riots last week at the nation’s Capitol that left five people dead. “In no way should we condone violence in that way,” he said, acknowledging a place for peaceful protests.
“America’s moral, economic and military power is dependent on its economic strength,” Dimon said, cautioning that while America still has the best economy, “We don’t have a divine right to success. We need to fix the problems now.”
“We all want to support whoever is president. The incoming administration is trying to fix these things,” he added, referring to issues from China to immigration to technology. “A lot of our problems are self-inflected.”
The executive remains hopeful that America can get back on track. “This country always has been resilient, and I’m hoping we go back to the way we were as opposed to the discourse from the last 10 to 15 years,” Dimon said. “Let’s get to work and fix stuff.”