The JPMorgan Chase Institute — the bank's internal think tank of sorts — and its new policy arm are pushing for policy changes for the first time, the company shared exclusively with Axios.
Why it matters: The institute is sending its recommendations to Washington, as Congress hashes out a pandemic stimulus package.
What they're saying: "Even after you account for stimulus payments, unemployment insurance, renters experienced a greater than 10% drop in income, suggesting that they are really struggling," Heather Higginbottom, president of JPMorgan Chase PolicyCenter, said on Axios' Re:Cap podcast.
- "We're trying to use our data and analysis to inform some of those conversations," Higginbottom added.
What they're proposing:
- Raising the federal minimum wage, though they don't say by how much.
- Adding wage benefits for working parents — particularly women of color disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
- Switching off expanded unemployment benefits only when certain economic conditions improve and state unemployment rates fall to a certain level.
