JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon urged lawmakers to spell out—very specifically—targets for building roads, funding college degrees and creating jobs if they embark on a massive spending spree to bolster the economy.
“Just throwing money, it doesn’t work,” Dimon said in an interview posted Thursday for the Investment Company Institute’s general membership meeting. “We already waste tremendous sums of money.”
Asked about raising taxes, Dimon said he would want an itemized list on what they would go toward. U.S. President Joe Biden has proposed trillions of dollars in spending on infrastructure and social projects to be paid for with tax increases on the wealthy.
“On highways, how many miles are you going to build, how much is it going to cost, when’s it going to get done, who’s responsible?” he said. On education, he doesn’t think that “free community college” is precise enough. “How many kids are going to graduate, how many kids are going to have a job at $65,000 a year?”
Lawmakers and the administration owe that to the public, he said. They should promise, “If you’re going to give me your money, I’m going to be a good steward of it and here’s what I am going to accomplish and I am going to report back to you,” he said, comparing it to the information companies disclose.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.