Jamie Dimon Says The Public Education Is 'One Of The Biggest Disasters' - JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM)

Like most Americans,

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPM

's CEO Jamie Dimon believes in a good comeback story. Since his company can trace its roots back to Detroit and is currently the biggest bank in the city, he put his money where his mouth is and made a $100 million commitment 2 years ago towards the revival of the city. The bank pledged $50 million to finance the development of commercial, retail and mixed-income housing in the city, $6.5 million to fund loans to minority-owned small businesses, $4 million to preserve affordable housing and $1.5 million towards job training and summer youth employment. Dimon was recently in Detroit to meet with entrepreneurs and small-business owners to see first hand how the bank is playing a role in re-building the economy to its glory days. He also

spoke with CNN Money and acknowledged that Wall Street banks, especially his own, "made mistakes" that may have contributed to the city's downfall. "JP Morgan obviously made mistakes," Dimon told CNNMoney. "But to me, we were also steadfast. If you talk about JP Morgan, we were here in the darkest moments for everybody at all time. We didn't run. We didn't hide. All the big banks rolled over trillions of dollars of loans when the market place wasn't willing to. But we've made mistakes. We try to admit the mistakes. We learn from them and move on. And we've paid a heavy price for them." The Comeback Story Dimon expects Detroit to return to its glory days, but there is a major hurdle in doing so: the city's public education system. A failing education system leads to a failing economy and this is the state of Detroit's education system. The Detroit Public School district holds more than $500 million in operating debt and could run out of money to pay its staff by the end of the month. "This is probably one of the biggest disasters, Not just Detroit. A lot of inner city schools in America," Dimon said. "Americans should understand that 50%, or something like, of the kids in inner-city schools, often poor and often minority, don't graduate. And the ones that do, don't necessarily have the skills to get a job. That is the biggest disgrace in this country." "We should be ringing an alarm bell on every hilltop and every mountain top and saying this shouldn't be allowed," he added. As such, Dimon suggested the top priority for the city would be the creation of "the right curriculum, the right teachers, the right help and the right money." With the right investments in education, students can graduate with higher confidence and improved job skills. This will stimulate the economy and create a win-win situation for all involved, including Dimon and his Wall Street bank. Asked if he sees Detroit as a smart investment, Dimon told CNNMoney "I hope so. If it doesn't work I'll feel far worse for the people of Detroit than I do for JPMorgan. But yes I hope it can be a little part of turning around this great city."

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