We all know Governor Jack Markell is a businessman. And as any Delaware Governor would be, he is close to certain credit card companies, banks and investment banks, because they all are either headquartered here or do business here. That is true of JPMorgan Chase, which is a big Delaware employer. So it is not a big surprise to know where Jack’s sympathies lie.
JPMorgan announced a $2 billion loss on Friday from the very same derivative betting that caused the greatest collapse of the financial system since 1929. This announcement caused a firestorm on the left and even a little bit on the right: proof that Wall Street has learned absolutely nothing over the last four years and seem hell bound to repeat the same exact mistakes (if not outright fraud) that got us all into this mess in the first place.
Now, remember, no one has gone to jail as a result of the 2008 collapse. Indeed, many if not all of the Wall Street chieftans and their underlings got HUGE bonuses and payouts in 2009, I guess as a reward for managing to single-handedly destroying the economy of the planet.
And now idiots at JPMorgan Chase are doing it again.
That makes some of us very very angry. Righteously angry.
And yet Governor Markell wants us to take it easy on JPMorgan Chase.
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell went to bat for JPMorgan Chase in interviews with the political publication Politico and CNBC, saying that national lawmakers should “take a deep breath” before probing the country’s largest bank for a whopping $2 billion trading loss.
“We have got to remember that we do want banks to be able to hedge their positions, because otherwise they are never going to lend more money. There has got to be a way for them to manage their risk,” Markell told CNBC.
Now, Governor Markell has been a good governor, and he is a good politician and a good man. But this comment is the most tone deaf comment, politically and morally, that he has ever made.
I am sorry, but JPMorgan Chase and the entire financial sector deserves every single ounce of derision and scrutiny they get. They have paid no price for their wrongdoing, and like any dog or insolent child, they are repeating their wrongdoing again as a result. And like any “new age” parent, Governor Markell would prefer us all to take a time out and talk nicely to child, rather than yelling at him and punishing him.
Given Governor Markell’s background and sympathies and responsiblilities, I do not expect him to share my opinion about JPMorgan Chase or any other Wall Street firm. But as a good politician, I do expect him to be silent about it.