Rep. Katie Porter asked a simple question: How are Dimon's employees supposed to make up a $500 shortfall between living expenses and what they're paid at JP Morgan Chase. He had no real answer.
April 11, 2019

During Wednesday's hearing with bank CEOs, Rep. Katie Porter drove home how wide the gap is between Jamie Dimon's lavish lifestyle at $31 million per year and a theoretica entry-level employee at JP Morgan Chase.

In Porter's scenario, she imagined a single mom of a 6-year old living in Irvine, CA. She found a job at JP Morgan Chase on Monster.com advertised at $16.50 hourly wage. She then proceeded to outline how this single mom would face at least a $567 shortfall each month after taxes and expenses.

Her question for Dimon was simple: "How should she manage this budget shortfall while she’s working full-time at your bank?"

Hedging, Dimon answered, “I don’t know that all your numbers are accurate. That number is generally a starter job. You can get those jobs out of high school, and she may have my job one day."

Oh! That pie-in-the-sky attitude, where if you just hope hard enough as a single parent of a six-year old making $16.50/hour, you too can make $31 million a year. It's like a drug. An insidious, addictive, lie-drug.

Porter would have none of it, reminding Dimon that maybe she would, but TODAY she's $500 short of meeting her bills.

“She may,” Porter shot back. “But, Mr. Dimon, she doesn’t have the ability right now to spend your $31 million.”

Porter pressed on. Would that single mom run up credit cards or would she just write bad checks and suck up the overdraft fees? Maybe a payday loan, I think, driving her even farther into debt. God forbid that single mom needs a car repair, or has a doctor bill. What then?

Dimon's final answer? “I don’t know. I’d have to think about it.”

Raise your hand if you think he won't give it another thought.

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