Jamie Dimon
Jamie Dimon

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has deposed Berkshire Hathaway chief Warren Buffett as the king of “letter to the shareholders” writers.

While the letter from the “Oracle of Omaha” focuses on Wall Street and the economy, the New Yorker takes aim at the pressing political, cultural and economic matters of the day.

His recent gem deals with Ukraine, political dysfunction, interest rates, misinformation, AI, governmental regulation, rising China, diversity & inclusion, climate change, industrialization, taxes, immigration, decision-making, trade, respect for others, inflation, and national security.

One of my favorite parts of Dimon’s letter simply urges Americans to stop screaming at each other.

“We can start by trying to understand other people’s and other voters’ points of views, even around deeply emotional topics. We can stop insulting whole classes of voters. We can stop name calling. We can stop blame-shifting and scapegoating. We can stop being petty.

“Politicians can cease insulting, baiting and belittling each other, which diminishes them and the voter. It has also become too acceptable for some politicians to say one thing in private and deliver a completely different message in public. It would also be nice to see some cabinet members from the opposing party. We should also stop degrading and demonizing American business and American institutions, which are the best in the world, because it erodes confidence in our very country.”

Dimon believes ending US support for Ukraine goes against everything that this nation is supposed to stand for.

“In perilous periods of history when our allies and other democracies were under serious assault, great American leaders have inspired the American people — through words and actions — to stand up to help and defend them,” he wrote. ‘Staying on the sidelines during battles of autocracy and democracy, between dictatorship and freedom, is simply not an option for America today.”

Where are those great American leaders? Not only does America have timid politicos staying on the sidelines, it has Republicans spouting Russian misinformation and talking points.

Meanwhile, the Republican Speaker of the House puts his own job security ahead of doing what’s right and living up to the promise of America. Here's a guy who was plucked from obscurity and now wants to hang on to his job.

Ukraine’s struggle is our struggle, according to Dimon. The fall of Ukraine would splinter Pax Americana and would be a disaster for the whole world.

“It is imperative that our national leaders explain to the American people what is at stake and make a powerful case – with energy, consistency and clarity – for our strong enduring commitment to Ukraine’s survival for as long as it takes (and it could take years),” wrote Dimon.

We need a guy like Jamie in House leadership to make the case for Ukraine.

Putting COVID-19 in the rearview mirror. Kimberly-Clark is selling its personal protective equipment business to Australia’s Ansell for $640M.

The deal comes as hospitals and healthcare providers have hefty supplies of protective gloves and masks that were purchased during the pandemic.

Domestic PPE suppliers have been shutting factories due to overcapacity, leaving the US reliant on foreign suppliers. Honeywell is thinking about unloading its PPE operation

Ansell said it is happy to be acquiring the K-C business. The company will be sitting pretty during the next pandemic when hospitals scramble to acquire PPE products from foreign producers.

It will be a re-run of the chaos that occurred at beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak when PPE was not available due to disrupted supply chains.

K-C suffers from the short-term focus that infects US companies. It looking at the next quarterly financial results, rather than on a potential national emergency that may happen somewhere down the road.

Nixing Netanyahu….More than half (56 percent) of Americans oppose Israel’s actions in Gaza, according to a Gallup survey conducted from March 1-20. That’s up from 45 percent in a November poll.

Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of Americans are following news of the Israel-Hamas war closely.

Those eyes are trained on prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said it’s not if—but a matter of when— will Israel invade Rafah, which houses Hamas fighters among the 1.5M civilian Palestinian refugees.

Preparation for the carnage is in the works. Israel’s press reports the government is buying 40K tents to shelter almost half a million Palestinians who are supposed to be evacuated from Rafah ahead of the ground invasion.

Where are those desperate people supposed to go? And why should they cooperate with the Israeli authorities who have bombed their homes, killed family members, and penned them up like cattle without access to food and water.

An invasion of Rafah would dramatically increase the death toll of Palestinians, which currently stands at more than 33,200.

It would be the final straw for any American public support of Netanyahu.