Jamie Dimon talks about income inequality

[BMK]

An article published today by The Guardian quoted Jamie Dimon:

"The US is about to enter a post-pandemic boom, according to JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon, even though it has been 'torn and crippled by politics, as well as racial and income inequality.'"

... says the guy with an eight-figure salary.

You can read The Guardian article here:

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...s-post-pandemic-boom-racial-income-inequality

And you can read his letter to shareholders, which is part of JP Morgan's annual report, here:

https://www.jpmorganchase.com/conte...tor-relations/documents/annualreport-2020.pdf

What is interesting is that The Guardian kind of took that quote out of context. Not in a way that fundamentally altered its meaning, but nevertheless stripped it of some very relevant context.

Here's what the letter to shareholders actually says:

China’s leaders believe that America is in decline. They believe this not only because their country’s sheer size will make them the largest economy on the planet by 2030
but also because they believe their long-term thinking and competent, consistent leadership have outshone America’s in so many ways. The Chinese see an America that is losing ground in technology, infrastructure and education – a nation torn and crippled by politics, as well as racial and income inequality – and a country unable to coordinate government policies (fiscal, monetary, industrial, regulatory) in any coherent way to accomplish national goals. Unfortunately, recently, there is a lot of truth to this.

 

[RedSun]

When the top 1% of US household controls 90% (just a guess) of US wealth, we get a problem. US median household net worth is about $220,000 and the average household net worth is more than $1,000,000.

 

[comagnum]

Depending on your age this is what the median net worth looks like when you remove the ultra rich. 40% of Americans can not even cover an unexpected $400 expense.

 

[RedSun]

Yes. This is why people from other nations laugh at us for having one of highest expenditure on military spending and spend $720B on defense. And we have these many poor people who have no saving nor retirement saving. And former Lehman CEO and former boss at NYSE both were paid like $300M. It is fine for Mr. Hwang to gamble his way to super rich. But taking shareholders' money is another story.

 

[Market_Diver]

USA is gone and there's no turning back.
It is so divided, by gender, by race, and by left and right.

Chinese has income inequality too, possibly bigger gap than the US. They have many billionaires and many very poor citizens. But they do not have the "liberal vs conservative", "left vs right", "man vs feminist", and LGBT issues.

 

[VEGASDESERT]

USA is gone and there's no turning back.
It is so divided, by gender, by race, and by left and right.

Chinese has income inequality too, possibly bigger gap than the US. They have many billionaires and many very poor citizens. But they do not have the "liberal vs conservative", "left vs right", "man vs feminist", and LGBT issues.

No they have an oppressive one party rule.

No thank you.

I'll take the left vs right healthy
competition all day long.

 

[iprph90]

"Analysts outside China say actual military spending far exceeds the official figure presented every year at the legislative meeting, partly because R&D expenditures are not included. In January, researchers at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute updated the way it calculates China’s defense spending for 2019, estimating the Asian nation’s outlay at 1.66 trillion yuan, or 38% more than the official figure.

That works out to 1.7% of the country’s gross domestic product for the year, according to the institute, while the U.S. spent 3.4% of GDP on defense in 2019. The figure for India, the world’s third largest military spender, was 2.4%"

---Bloomberg

I suspect China's defense spending will continue to rise as it asserts its political and economic hegemony. They have made strategic investments in other countries. This century may belong to China. But culturally they will not be dominant as the US has been. Their massive human rights abuses may be their demise.

 

[newwurldmn]

"Analysts outside China say actual military spending far exceeds the official figure presented every year at the legislative meeting, partly because R&D expenditures are not included. In January, researchers at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute updated the way it calculates China’s defense spending for 2019, estimating the Asian nation’s outlay at 1.66 trillion yuan, or 38% more than the official figure.

That works out to 1.7% of the country’s gross domestic product for the year, according to the institute, while the U.S. spent 3.4% of GDP on defense in 2019. The figure for India, the world’s third largest military spender, was 2.4%"

---Bloomberg

I suspect China's defense spending will continue to rise as it asserts its political and economic hegemony. They have made strategic investments in other countries. This century may belong to China. But culturally they will not be dominant as the US has been. Their massive human rights abuses may be their demise.

culture is determined by economic power including the acceptance of human rights abuses

 

[RedSun]

No they have an oppressive one party rule.

No thank you.

I'll take the left vs right healthy
competition all day long.

I think all the anti-police and police brutality are the results of our own "oppressiveness". When you are fined for $100 with 2 or more traffic points for driving 8mph over speed limit, I think your blood may boil over...

When Republic control all 3 offices, and now all Democrats control all 3 offices, it is close to one party rule. It is the same thing. Trump made the tax change. And now Biden wants to reverse the tax change.

Do not blame other country where it has nothing to do with us. Take care own business....

 

[RedSun]

"Analysts outside China say actual military spending far exceeds the official figure presented every year at the legislative meeting, partly because R&D expenditures are not included. In January, researchers at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute updated the way it calculates China’s defense spending for 2019, estimating the Asian nation’s outlay at 1.66 trillion yuan, or 38% more than the official figure.

That works out to 1.7% of the country’s gross domestic product for the year, according to the institute, while the U.S. spent 3.4% of GDP on defense in 2019. The figure for India, the world’s third largest military spender, was 2.4%"

---Bloomberg

I suspect China's defense spending will continue to rise as it asserts its political and economic hegemony. They have made strategic investments in other countries. This century may belong to China. But culturally they will not be dominant as the US has been. Their massive human rights abuses may be their demise.

So if indeed that is true, would our 3.4% exactly double what China is spending. I think it is like $720B vs $220B. You sure can make it $720B vs $300B if you do not believe China's official figure. That is where we spend all the money in Iraq, Japan, Korea, Saudi, Syria and all other "friendly" countries. We guard Syria's oil, so Assad can't use it. And we guard Afghanistan presidential palace, so Taliban would not attach it. A lot more like that. And some man died because of a $20 bill.

People have been predicating China or Communist China's demise for half a century or more. Yet, China is catching on to US. What other prediction we want to make?