JP Morgan CEO calls coronavirus an opportunity to rebuild economy that is more inclusive

JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in a letter to shareholders Tuesday that he hopes one result of the coronavirus pandemic will be the movement of the U.S. economy towards more fairness and opportunity for all.

“It is my fervent hope that we use this crisis as a catalyst to rebuild an economy that creates and sustains opportunity for dramatically more people, especially those who have been left behind for too long,” Dimon wrote in the memo ahead of the bank’s annual meeting.

“The last few months have laid bare the reality that, even before the pandemic hit, far too many people were living on the edge,” he added, according to CNBC.

Dimon’s remarks come as unemployment has spiked to the highest rate since the Great Depression, with 36 million Americans filing for unemployment benefits since March. Thousands of businesses around the country remain closed due to orders from state governors.

The JP Morgan CEO went on in his memo to point out that minorities were being hit, on average, harder than other Americans by the crisis.

“Unfortunately, low-income communities and people of color are being hit the hardest, exacerbating the health and economic inequities that were already unacceptably pronounced before the virus took over,” he wrote.

“An inclusive economy — in which there is widespread access to opportunity — is a stronger, more resilient economy. This crisis must serve as a wake-up call and a call to action for business and government to think, act and invest for the common good,” Dimon added.

A $2 trillion stimulus package passed by the House and Senate earlier this year included checks for $1,200 made out to every U.S. adult and also contained funding for loans to small businesses meant to support payroll expenses during the crisis.

House Democrats passed another round of coronavirus stimulus legislation last week, but Republicans have said it is dead on arrival in the Senate.