Piranhas! at the Disco

corporationsarepeople:

Analysis | One exchange during a congressional hearing laid bare the CEO-employee pay disparity

JPMorgan Chase's CEO was confronted about an employee's pay.

Washington Post

At its heart, the question posed by Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon was simple: How should a woman who lived in her district manage the fact that her job with Dimon’s company didn’t pay enough to cover her bills? With a take-home pay of $35,070 a year, including a $750 bonus, the employee came up nearly $600 short a month on her expenses, even excluding costs such as clothes and medication.

“I don’t know,” Dimon replied. “I’d have to think about that.”

“Would you recommend that she take out a JPMorgan Chase credit card and run a deficit?” Porter asked.

“I don’t know. I’d have to think about it,” Dimon replied, this time somewhat curtly.

“Would you recommend that she overdraft at your bank and be charged overdraft fees?” Porter asked.

“I don’t know,” Dimon replied again. “I’d have to think about it.”

Porter’s question wasn’t just about that one Chase employee, of course. It was, instead, about a central issue in American politics: The divide between the richest Americans and everyone else.