JPMorgan Puts Together a Bailout for the American Dream 

Jamie Dimon is taking the American Dream public. 

On Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase announced a venture to expand economic opportunity through investments in communities across the country. The “American Dream Initiative” will kick off with increased access to capital, advice or tools for 10 million small businesses, up from the 7 million the bank serves today, according to a statement. Other goals include greater housing access and affordability through increased housing supply and home-ownership opportunities as well as increased support for thousands of schools, hospitals and nonprofits. 

The move comes at a time when white picket fences, manicured green lawns and a middle-class lifestyle seem beyond the grasp of many Americans. Nearly 70% of people say the American Dream no longer holds true or never did, according to a poll last year from The Wall Street Journal and NORC. 

“The American Dream is alive, but it’s slipping out of reach for too many people and for future generations,” said Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorganChase. 

Backing America’s Backbone 

Despite some pessimism, Americans are still looking to get ahead: 61% of adults say owning a business is part of the American Dream, and 69% of Gen Z adults say the same, according to a Wells Fargo survey. Most Gen Z-ers (74%) and more than half (58%) of millennials who don’t own businesses want to someday. 

JPMorgan, which also launched a $1.5 trillion plan to invest in industries critical to economic security in October, isn’t the only company looking to support small business owners: 

• Last week, Apple launched Apple Business, an all-in-one platform that includes built-in mobile device management and lets customers set up their business email, calendar and directory services using their own domain name. It also helps reach local customers.
• Meta is launching Meta Small Business to support entrepreneurship and increase AI adoption, Axios reported last week. 

Roasting Regulation: When discussing the initiative on Fox News, Dimon said the government should focus on good regulation, not necessarily more, and that failing to do so has crippled the country’s ability to build. “I tell people, get 10 or 20 small businesses, take them to lunch and ask them what they have to go through with federal, state, local regulations, audits, rules, OSHA, workers’ comp, insurance, litigation and you’ll say, ‘How can they even survive?’” Dimon said. “Big companies can afford that better than small companies.”