Snake Oil - Part 1
Billionaires are worried about capitalism
- they should look in a mirror
JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in early April. (Patrick Semansky / The Associated Press)
By Jon Talton
“Middle class incomes have been stagnant for years. Income inequality has gotten worse. Forty percent of American workers earn less than $15 an hour, and about 5% of full-time American workers earn the minimum wage or less, which is certainly not a living wage. In addition, 40% of Americans don’t have $400 to deal with unexpected expenses…”
The above reads like a speech from a left-leaning Democratic presidential candidate, an inconveniently accurate think-tank report, or even something I’ve written more than once. But it comes from the latest letter to shareholders by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
Some capitalists are growing worried, according to new stories in what are hardly Marxist rags, Financial Times and the Washington Post.
The Post’s headline read, “Capitalism in crisis: U.S. billionaires worry about the survival of the system that made them rich.” ...
Social democracy is openly embraced by the growing Democratic left, including some presidential candidates. Even independent presidential hopeful, billionaire Howard Schultz, I-Sonics, talks of the “the growing crisis of capitalism in this country.”
All this and more is getting the attention of at least some billionaires. Commentator and wealth manager Barry Ritholtz put it like this: “Consider: In 1966, the ‘bottom’ 90 percent captured 64% of the national income. By 2014, that had slid to 54%. The top 10% expanded from 37% to 47%. The biggest gains came not from the top 1%, but from the top 0.01% (the 1 percent’s 1%).” ...
Read full article at SEATTLE TIMES
- they should look in a mirror
JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in early April. (Patrick Semansky / The Associated Press)
By Jon Talton
“Middle class incomes have been stagnant for years. Income inequality has gotten worse. Forty percent of American workers earn less than $15 an hour, and about 5% of full-time American workers earn the minimum wage or less, which is certainly not a living wage. In addition, 40% of Americans don’t have $400 to deal with unexpected expenses…”
The above reads like a speech from a left-leaning Democratic presidential candidate, an inconveniently accurate think-tank report, or even something I’ve written more than once. But it comes from the latest letter to shareholders by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
Some capitalists are growing worried, according to new stories in what are hardly Marxist rags, Financial Times and the Washington Post.
The Post’s headline read, “Capitalism in crisis: U.S. billionaires worry about the survival of the system that made them rich.” ...
Social democracy is openly embraced by the growing Democratic left, including some presidential candidates. Even independent presidential hopeful, billionaire Howard Schultz, I-Sonics, talks of the “the growing crisis of capitalism in this country.”
All this and more is getting the attention of at least some billionaires. Commentator and wealth manager Barry Ritholtz put it like this: “Consider: In 1966, the ‘bottom’ 90 percent captured 64% of the national income. By 2014, that had slid to 54%. The top 10% expanded from 37% to 47%. The biggest gains came not from the top 1%, but from the top 0.01% (the 1 percent’s 1%).” ...
Read full article at SEATTLE TIMES