Jamie Dimon worried US economy in a 'sugar high,' says lower-earning Americans should be 'p---ed off'

NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon delivered a harsh assessment of the American economy on Wednesday, saying the lower third of earners should be "p---ed off" about their status.

Asked by Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times DealBook Summit why perceptions of the economy are poor in recent polling, despite some positive indicators, Dimon said inflation and other issues are holding it back, and again at the expense of lower earners.

"If you look at the U.S., yes, you know, almost all-time low unemployment, but inflation is hurting people," he said. "The bottom third, I kind of think they have a right to be p---ed off. I would probably be a little p---ed off if I were them."

"We've been talking about trying to help those lower income citizens now since President [Lyndon] Johnson. And it's almost still where it was before," Dimon added. "You know, I just think we've made a lot of mistakes."

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Dimon said the country had done a "terrible job" taking care of the bottom 30 percent of earners.

"You’re all wealthy and have money and stuff like that, but their average wages are $15 to $20 [an hour]. They’re the ones who lost their jobs in COVID," he said. "They’re dying five or six years younger than the rest of us. They’re the ones who don’t have medical insurance. They're the ones where their schools don’t work. They’re the ones dealing with crime. What the hell have we done as a nation?"

Seemingly alluding to the coronavirus stimulus packages signed by Presidents Trump and Biden, he said the economy has "had a little bit of drugs injected directly into [the] system," and he was "cautious" about being too optimistic about the economy. 

"The economy, when people look at the current economy and things are going good… we've had a little bit of drugs injected directly into our system called ‘fiscal stimulation,’ the largest we've ever had in peacetime, and ['quantitative easing'], the largest monetary stimulation to different things, different effects," he said. "But they are drugs running through the system, and they create this kind of sugar high, and we're in a sugar high." 

"Yeah, corporate profits are up because people are spending a lot of money. Where do they get the money? The government gave it to them. Well, of course, profits are up," he added. "So, I'm quite cautious about the economy… I would just be a little careful about that just because it feels pretty good today."

The Biden administration has repeatedly touted low unemployment and declining rates of inflation, but a majority of Americans say they're living paycheck to paycheck, and the economy is viewed as a place of vulnerability for the White House going into 2024.

Dimon discussed a wide range of topics in his interview, including politics. He said he would advise even liberal Democrats to boost Republican Nikki Haley in her efforts to capture the 2024 nomination to stop front-runner Donald Trump.

"If you’re a very liberal Democrat, I urge you to help Nikki Haley, too. Get a choice on the Republican side that might be better than Trump," Dimon said.

Dimon stressed, however, that he would be happy to advise Trump if he recaptured the White House or "whoever is President of the United States" if it would help the American people.

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He also took an implicit shot at Biden and liberals writ large about condescending remarks to conservative Trump supporters, saying they shouldn't take shots at "ultra MAGA" people.

"We're in New York City, you know, the bastion of liberal society," he said. "We should stop talking about ultra MAGA. I think you're insulting a large group of people… We're making assumptions, scapegoating, which the press is pretty good at too, where that somehow these people believe in Trump's family values and they're supporting [his personal life]. I don't think that's true. I think what they're looking at is saying the economy [was] pretty good. Even the Black community had the lowest unemployment rate ever in his last year. He wasn't wrong about China. He wasn't wrong about NATO. He wasn't wrong about the misuse of the military." 

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The billionaire, who leads the largest bank in the country, has flirted with presidential runs in the past and been linked to politicians on both sides of the aisle. Dimon was considered for treasury secretary under President Obama when he first took office.