“I don’t like to brag about the expensive places I’ve been. But night before last, I went to the grocery store,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told a hearing of the Senate Banking Committee. That drew a laugh from Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, who was among the major bank executives testifying before the committee. “Inflation is gutting the American people like a fish,” Kennedy said, making a serious point.
“Now, we know what the Federal Reserve is doing on the monetary side. I want to ask you what you think we should do — we meaning the federal government — on the fiscal side,” Kennedy said, turning to Fraser and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, both of whom urged less federal spending. “There is a considerable amount of savings still in the system,” Fraser said. “We don’t believe that we need more, additional stimulus being put through to the economy.” Fraser said it’s likely to be a “very challenging year ahead,” and any financial support should go to those who are suffering from high prices.”
Dimon agreed: “Yeah, I think a little less fiscal spending would be good, because we had 30 percent of GDP spent over a two-year period, which is literally unprecedented. “But I was thinking (on) the supply side — taxation, immigration, regulation, health care, infrastructure, this permitting bill — if you did some of those things, it would help grow the economy and reduce inflation.”
“Would a tax cut be out of the question?” Kennedy asked. “I’d say calibrate taxes so that you create more growth,” Dimon said. He added that deregulation would be helpful, especially to small businesses. “I urge everyone to take ten small businesses out to lunch, and ask them what it’s like to live through federal, state and local regulations. Even if they have one store. And that could help a lot.”
President Donald Trump campaigned on a deregulation pledge. Shortly after taking office in January 2017, he signed an executive order directing federal agencies to eliminate at least two regulations for each new one. But President Biden has scrapped many of Trump’s regulatory.
The increased scrutiny underscores the challenges the country’s largest lenders increasingly face as they try to balance commercial interests with pressure from policymakers, activists and investors to take stances on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. The line-up included CEOs of the four largest U.S. banks: JPMorgan Chase & Co’s Jamie Dimon, Wells Fargo’s Charles Scharf, Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan and Citigroup’s Jane Fraser. They were joined by the CEOs of the country’s largest regional lenders, US Bancorp, PNC Financial and Trust.
Kennedy: “Capitalism works. That’s why America has the strongest economy in all of human history um capitalism has done more to lift people out of poverty than all the social programs put together. Poverty rate in our country is three percent now. The census bureau will tell you it’s 12 percent but the census bureau only counts cash payments not any kind payments. The census bureau doesn’t count Medicaid, it doesn’t count food stamps, it doesn’t count the earned income tax credit. If you count all of those all those programs our poverty rate is three percent and that money didn’t just to help our neighbors who are less fortunate than we are did not come from leprechauns. It came from the American people and their generosity and they have that money because of capitalism. Number two, I’m not going to ask you to comment on this senator to me touched on it you will never win never the uber woke sweepstakes. I understand that the pressure to run that race is fierce you will never win it. Nothing you do will never be enough. The uber woke people in positions of power in this town I think America was evil when it was founded and it’s even more evil today. You’re not going to convince them otherwise. I believe that you’re not free if you can’t say what you think. I encourage you to do that. I believe that you’re not free if you can’t express yourself you have your opinion be candid don’t try to win the uber sweepstakes number.”
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Kennedy to bank CEOs “You will never win uber-woke sweepstakes”; CEOs: no more additional stimulus.