Why Isn’t Jamie Dimon Telling Clients to Raise Wages Too?

It’s great that JPMorgan Chase will raise starting wages of its tellers and low-wage employees. But why isn’t the commercial and investment bank telling its corporate clients to do the same? In his recent New York Times op-ed, CEO Jamie Dimon said the wage hike would reduce income inequality and make good business sense, too: While businesses, including ours, are understandably cautious when it comes to expenses, there are good expenses (investments that will pay off in the long run) and bad expenses (waste and inefficiencies). We have never hesitated to invest aggressively if we thought it would improve our long-term prospects.