Surviving Capitalism (Not) : It's Jamie Dimon's World, the Senate Banking Committee Just Lives in It

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Thursday, June 14, 2012

It's Jamie Dimon's World, the Senate Banking Committee Just Lives in It

Click here to access article from American Banker.

I watched brief segments of this two hour event yesterday on TV in which Jamie Dimon is questioned by the Senate Banking committee, and my impression was very much the same as this report. In contrast to mainstream media this banking source offers a refreshingly honest description of what really happened. The fact that they are able to do this suggests that they are judging Dimon as a peer, or as an equal among equals. In contrast with the Senators, people at this banking site are clearly not intimidated by his powerful position among the ruling class. I've noticed that other members of Wall Street and mainstream media are beginning to refer to Dimon as "King Jamie".

See also this 3:42m video from the same website:

Compare this Dimon "grilling" from the Senators with the real grilling of auto execs in 2008 and the way media covered the event.

Forty years ago one would not have seen such a disparity in treatment between a banking elite and industrial elites by Congress. Although banking elites have always been an important part of our ruling class, they now constitute nearly all of the real decision-makers.

You may also want to check out other reports that I found to be interesting. See this, this, this, this, and this.