What’s Wrong With Jamie Dimon is What’s Wrong With America

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http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/05/22-1



A lot of people have attacked JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon over the years, including this author. After Tuesday’s shareholder votes at JPM, Mark Gongloff is right to describe Dimon as a “cult leader.” Gongloff quotes critics, like Public Citizen’s Bart Naylor who offer pointed and very valid criticism of Dimon and his board.

But that’s not the end of the story. It’s too easy to externalize responsibility by pinning the blame on villains. Every people has used the symbolism of demons in an attempt to extirpate something within themselves. The Jamie Dimon story shows that something more fundamental needs repair – in our economy, in our society, in us.

Don’t get me wrong. That isn’t meant to suggest that we’re guilty of fraud, or greed, or fiscal management. But we definitely have some work to do.

Men at Work

Chuck Prince. Robert Rubin. Lloyd Blankfein. Jeff Immelt. Brian Moynihan. Jamie Dimon. The bank CEO names roll off the tongue almost as rapidly as the billions pass algorithmically through cyberspace. What happens if one falls, as Prince did? Another takes his place before his precedecessor’s shadow has left the ground he was standing on.