'If you do it badly...': JPMorgan CEO confronts Mamdani during closed-door meeting

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently met with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, offering a stark warning about the potential pitfalls of ineffective governance and policies driven by ideology rather than practicality. Dimon described the closed-door meeting as "pleasant" but asserted that he conveyed his concerns directly to the mayor.

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He was very polite. It was very earnest. We had a very good conversation, but I said everything I wanted to say.

During their conversation, Dimon stressed the importance of fixing underlying systems and administrative processes, suggesting that "good policy is free." He advised against focusing solely on raising taxes or increasing spending, urging policymakers to instead concentrate on implementing well-researched and practical solutions. Dimon highlighted that poorly designed policies can exacerbate problems rather than solve them, referencing issues like affordable housing and childcare.

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Most people want it. If you do it badly, it would be a disaster … Do it right. There are studies that can tell you how to do it right. Get people who know what they’re doing and implement proper policies.

The meeting took place on May 18, a period marked by growing apprehension among business leaders regarding Mayor Adams' proposed economic agenda. This agenda includes a controversial tax on second homes valued above $1 million. The mayor had recently drawn criticism for filming a promotional video for this tax outside a luxury penthouse owned by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin.

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Good policy is free.

Dimon also touched upon the significant challenge of managing New York City, which has 300,000 employees. He alluded to past instances where mayors have "fail[ed] abysmally" due to administrative incompetence or ideological blindness. Dimon expressed a willingness to assist the administration if it pursues practical and effective solutions, stating, "if I can help them do the good stuff, I’d be happy to do that."

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I mean, he’s running the city with 300,000 employees now. And I’ve seen mayors who just, they fail abysmally because they can’t administer themselves out of a paper bag, or ideology blinds them to practical, realistic, real-world policy. And so we’ll see.