White House hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) fired back at JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Tuesday after he castigated her for using rhetoric that he said “vilifies successful people.”
“It’s really simple: Jamie Dimon and his buddies are successful in part because of the opportunities, workforce, and public services that we all paid for. It’s only fair that he and his billionaire friends chip in to make sure everyone else has a chance to succeed,” Warren tweeted.{mosads}
“The fact that they’ve reacted so strongly—so angrily!—to being asked to chip in more tells you all you need to know. The system is working great for the wealthy and well-connected, and Jamie Dimon doesn’t want that to change. I’m going to fight to make sure it works for everyone,” she added.
Warren, a staunch progressive, has cast her campaign as an effort to reign in financial excess from large corporations and curtail income and wealth inequities across the country. Her proposals, including calling for a wealth tax on individuals making more than $50 million, has earned her scorn from corporate executives.
“She uses some pretty harsh words, you know, some would say vilifies successful people,” Dimon told CNBC. “I don’t like vilifying anybody. I think we should applaud successful people.”
Beyond the wealth tax, Warren has made boosting taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations a centerpiece to help pay for several of her more wide-ranging proposals.
“The road to hell is paved with good intentions when it comes to policy,” Dimon said. “A lot of government programs have been abysmal failures, and we should acknowledge that both problems need to be fixed, and those solutions didn’t work. Let’s try something different.”
Warren has repeatedly dismissed concerns that her progressive policies could turn off some big-dollar donors who may typically back Democratic candidates.
“I’m fighting for an economy and a government that works for all of us, not just the wealthy and well-connected,” Warren said last month regarding a CNBC report that quoted anonymous donors. “I’m not afraid of anonymous quotes, and wealthy donors don’t get to buy this process. I won’t back down from fighting for the big, structural change we need.”