Over the weekend, I read an interesting article by Lucinda Shen at Business Insider discussing a recent interview between JPMorgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, and NBC’s Chuck Todd. According to Dimon:

“Amerca has the best hand ever dealt right now.”

That is a pretty bold statement overall, but he does back it up with some statements of fact. However, for those “facts” to support such a sweeping statement of “greatness,”they must be put into some context of previous economic cycles. Therefore, let’s take a look at his points in a bit more depth.

“The U.S. economy has been growing at 2-2.5% for six or seven years, while that’s not great, it’s quite good.”

The problem is, as shown in the long-term chart of economic growth below, it is the lowest average rate of economic growth in history. 

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Importantly, notice that since 1980, when the primary shift from a manufacturing to a service-based economy began, economic growth rates have been on the decline. 

While Mr. Dimon may suggest that such a low economic growth rate is “good enough,” it is not strong enough to foster higher rates or wage growth or economic prosperity for roughly 80% of American’s. This was shown in the most recent Federal Reserve study on consumer finances. 

Since 2007, the media value of financial assets for families with holdings has DECLINED with the exception of those in the top decline that includes “some folks” like Jamie Dimon.

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Median before-tax incomes have also fallen from nearly $52,000 annually to roughly $47,000 currently.

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And, most importantly, families that own equity in a business (small businesses generate the bulk of all job creation) has plunged.

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This last point is the most critical as it relates to Jamie Dimon’s comments regarding employment:

“We’ve added 10 million jobs since the ‘Great Recession.’“

While that statement is true, it is worth noting that there is a huge difference between“quantity” and “quality.” There is no arguing that employment in the U.S. has grown since the end of the “financial crisis,” however the jobs created have been primarily located at the lower end of the wage scale. We know this simply by looking at average wage growth for the 80% of population that are not “Supervisors.”