Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan says ‘we need to get after’ America’s $34tn national debt: ‘You can either admire the problem or do something about it’
Wall Street is officially done ignoring the government’s eye-watering national debt bill. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon says it’s a global “rebellion” waiting to happen, with Bank of America CEO Brian Monyihan adding this week that it’s time Washington looked the problem in the eye.
Moynihan’s message comes a day after Fed chairman Jerome Powell called for an “adult conversation” about fiscal responsibility, telling CBS’s 60 Minutes it’s now “past time to get back to an adult conversation among elected officials about getting the federal government back on a sustainable fiscal path.”
The government has racked up a bill of more than $100,000 per U.S. citizen, prompting warnings about what this means for public spending and, as global tensions escalate, national security.
Indeed, former House Speaker Paul Ryan warned during a panel at the Bipartisan Policy Center late last month that before long the White House will be spending more servicing its debt than it invests in the Pentagon.
Ryan described the debt issue as the “most predictable crisis we’ve ever had,” a summary Dimon agrees with, and Moynihan is now adding his voice to those who want to see action.