Jamie Dimon: The US economy has been "fundamentally anti-poor"
"If you live in certain parts of the city, if you're white or Spanish or black, you can be left behind," Dimon CNN's Poppy Harlow told a Boss Files interview on Monday.
Much of this strategy involves helping low-income Americans, including those who have been stigmatized due to criminal records making it difficult for them to find work and keeping them cycling in and out of prison .
"Children don't get the education they need to get a job," Dimon said. "And I'm talking about a real job."
Dimon pointed to an overemphasis among employers on graduates with four-year college degrees, and said more value should be given to those graduating from the community college, or receiving other types of training. Some positions should not require university degrees at all, he added.
The CEO, who has led JPMorgan Chase since 2005, said that the bank has removed requirements for college students from many of their positions. About 75% of the US posts that JPMorgan posted in 201[ads1]8 do not require a college education.
Dimon also said there should be greater job opportunities for judges who have earned their time – and said he would like to hire more himself.
"Many of these people should probably never have been criminals or they have paid the price," he said. "They have families, they have children, they can't get credit, they can't get a home. They are struggling to get a job. And they deserve a second chance."
The regulations have historically made it "very difficult" for financial services companies to hire ex-convicts, he said. But JPMorgan intends to make a targeted effort to develop "specific programs for specific jobs" to make the process less difficult.
"This is not necessarily violent, lifelong criminal," Dimon said. "These are people who made a mistake when they were young. I tell my friends, you made many mistakes when you were young too, you weren't caught."
For Dimon, these efforts are not just about philanthropy. In his view, they can also increase the economy.
More effective training programs will make those who have been released from prison "much happier and much more productive," he said. "And that would be good for society."
Such programs are most effective when businesses can work with local authorities and education systems, according to Dimon.
He generally expressed skepticism about the federal government's ability to manage money, saying that Democrats and Republicans must do more to justify spending decisions. This should be part of the broader political conversation about increasing individual tax rates, he said.
"No one believes that just sending more money to Washington is going to fix … problems we have," Dimon said. [19659022]
