U.S. had a national debt ‘home run’ in its grasp, says Jamie Dimon—but the government did nothing, and now its best option is crisis management

“The best way to deal withthe problem is to actually deal with theproblem, to acknowledge it, to work on it,” Dimon told NPR’s Newsmakers podcast. “Years ago, we had a solution,the Simpson-Bowles Commission. It didn’tget done. I wish it had gotten done. Itwould have been a home run for all ofAmericans, and it would have resolvedsome of these issues.”

Dimon was referring to the work ofPresident Obama, who oversaw the creation of the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, commonly known as the Simpson-Bowles (or Bowles-Simpson) Commission. The ensuing report made several recommendations: cutting discretionary spending, reforming tax law, and reshaping health care spending.

While many of the suggestions from the commission have proved a basis for policy arguments when it comes to government spending, none of the conclusions of the report were ever formally brought into law.

Dimon highlighted that a vast chunk of government spending (and hence, borrowing) is “set in stone” because it relates to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. According to the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) most recent full-year calculations, this mandatory spending accounted for $4.2 trillion of a total $7 trillion spending for 2025.

“I think we should work on it, but I don’tknow—and again, I don’t think anyonecan predict: Does it become a realproblem in six months, six years? Idon’t know—I do know it will become aproblem, and the way it would exhibititself is volatile markets, rates going up … bondvigilantes, people not wanting to buyUnited States Treasuries, [the U. S.] will stillbe the best economy, but they’ll notwant to own U. S. Treasuries,” Dimon explained. “So we shoulddeal with it sooner than later maybe, and if it gets done thatway, it’ll be kind of crisis managementwhich we’ll get through—it’s just notthe right way to do it.”

A bipartisan issue

Over the years, both Republicans and Democrats have failed to meaningfully address the issue.

Proposals have been put forward by independent groups: TheCommittee for a Responsible Federal Budgethas continually advocated for a federal unified budget deficit at or below 3% of GDP. (At the moment it’s around 6%.) This idea has been backed by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), the cochairs of theBipartisan Fiscal Forum. Indeed, the entire steering committee for the forum has supported the notion and introduced aresolutionto that effect.

“Neither Democrats orRepublicans have really focused on thisfor a while. It comes up all the timeand you talk and you walk the halls of Congress, I mean, almost everyone knows,” Dimon added. “It’s just we haven’t had the will yet toactually deal with it, and it’s unfortunate because it can end up with areal problem, worse than it wouldotherwise have been. Good policy isfree.”

Indeed, economists and analysts aren’t necessarily worried about the level of government debt, rather the debt-to-GDP ratio. Depending on who you ask, the debt-to-GDP ratio stands at around 122% of GDP at present. This measure demonstrates an economy’s spending versus its growth, and the risk associated with lending to a nation that isn’t growing fast enough to handle its spending. To rebalance that ratio, an economy could either cut spending or increase growth—the latter being by far the less painful option.

Dimon is bullish on the strength of the U. S. economy, saying it should aspire to hit 3% growth if not “even better than that.”

“If we grew at 3% and not 2% … the debt toGDP would start going down,” he added. “This is the most innovativenation the world’s ever seen. And so Ithink we should focus a little bit inthat to solve the problem too, not justraise taxes or cut expenditures.”