JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon calls on US to stockpile bullets, rare earth instead of bitcoin
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — The United States should stockpile guns, ammunition and drones instead of bitcoin, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Friday at the inaugural Reagan National Economic Forum in California.
"We shouldn't be stockpiling bitcoins," Dimon said when asked about how industrial policy is entwined with national security policies during a panel. "We should stockpiling guns, bullets, tanks, planes, drones, you know, rare earths. We know we need to do it. It's not a mystery."
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that operates outside of banking or government authority. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March establishing a Bitcoin reserve, which he described as "a virtual Fort Knox for digital gold."
"We should be stockpiling bullets," he continued. "Like, you know, the military guys tell you that, you know, if there's a war in the South China Sea, we have missiles for seven days. Okay, come on. I mean, we can't say that with a straight face and think that's okay. So we know what to do. We just got to now go about doing it. Get the people together, roll up our sleeves, you know, have the debates."
Dimon joined a fireside chat during the Reagan National Economic Forum in Simi Valley, California, at the Reagan Presidential Library Friday for a sweeping discussion on the economy and how the world's "tectonic plates are shifting" in geopolitics in the form of wars, proxy terrorists and the potential proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Dimon underscored during his address that he does not view China as America's top adversary, and instead pointed his attention to the "enemy within" that could lead to the U.S.' status as the world's leader crater.
"I'm not as worried about China," Dimon said. "China is a potential adversary. They're doing a lot of things well, they have a lot of problems. But what I really worry about is us. Can we get our own act together, our own values, our own capability, our own management?"
"I always get asked this question: Are we going to be the reserve currency?" he said. "No. You know, if we are not the preeminent military and the preeminent economy in 40 years, we will not be the reserve currency. That's a fact. Just read history."
He referred to the U.S. government as a "Leviathan" that is too weak to carry out policies, while simultaneously imposing "things on the American public that they're getting sick of."
Dimon argued that instead, the U.S. needs to celebrate its long-held values.
"Celebrate our virtues: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise, equal opportunity, family, God, country," he said. "You know, and you can acknowledge the flaws that we have, which are extraordinary — what we did the Black population for years. Don't denigrate the great things of this country, because those are two different things."
"We don't talk that much to each other — deal with our policies — this is the enemy within," he continued. "We've got to fix our permitting our regulations our immigration our taxation, which I, I think they're on their way. We have to fix our inner city schools, our health care system."
The Reagan National Economic forum kicked off Friday, and includes panels featuring Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, lawmakers such as Sens. Mike Rounds and Bill Cassidy, and leaders from the private sector, such as the CEO of Booz Allen Hamilton, Horacio Rozanski. The bipartisan event works to promote "President Reagan's enduring belief in the power of the free market and individual opportunity to drive national prosperity," according to forum organizers.
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The gas pulled from tens of thousands of wells in New Mexico has reaped huge benefits for the entire country. Natural gas has become a go-to fuel for power plants from coast to coast, sometimes replacing dirtier coal-fired plants and, by extension, improving air quality. Locally, oil and gas companies employ thousands of workers, often in areas with few other opportunities, all while boosting the state's budget with billions in royalty payments. But those benefits may come at a cost for thousands of students in New Mexico whose schools sit near oil and gas pipelines, wellheads and flare stacks. An Associated Press analysis of state and federal data found 694 oil and gas wells with new or active permits within a mile of a school in the state. This means that around 29,500 students in 74 schools and pre-schools potentially face exposure to noxious emissions, as extraction from the ground can release unhealthy fumes. At Lybrook, where Amari just finished sixth grade, fewer than 6 percent of students are proficient at math, and only a fifth meet state standards for science and reading proficiency. Other factors could help explain students' poor achievement. Poverty rates are higher in some areas with high levels of gas development, and students at rural schools overall tend to face challenges that can adversely affect academic performance. AP's analysis found that two-thirds of the schools within a mile of an oil or gas well were low-income, and the population is around 24 percent Native American and 45 percent Hispanic. But research has found that student learning is directly harmed by air pollution from fossil fuels — even when socioeconomic factors are taken into account. And it's not just New Mexico where this is a risk. An AP analysis of data from the Global Oil and Gas Extraction Tracker found over 1,000 public schools across 13 states that are within five miles of a major oil or gas field. 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In 2024, scientists affiliated with Princeton and Northern Arizona universities conducted an air-monitoring study at the school, finding that levels of pollutants — including benzene, a cancer-causing byproduct of natural gas production that is particularly harmful to children — were spiking during school hours, to nearly double the levels known to cause chronic or acute health effects. That research followed a 2021 health impact assessment that was done with support from several local nonprofits and foundations, which analyzed the effects of the area's oil and gas development on residents. The findings were startling: More than 90 percent of people surveyed suffered from sinus problems. Nosebleeds, shortness of breath and nausea were widespread. The report attributed the symptoms to the high levels of pollutants that researchers found — including, near Lybrook, hydrogen sulfide, a compound that gives off the sulfur smell that Amari Werito associated with his headaches. Those studies helped confirm what many community members already knew, said Daniel Tso, a community leader who served on the committee that oversaw the 2021 health impact assessment. 'The children and the grandchildren need a safe homeland,' Tso said during an interview in March, standing outside a cluster of gas wells within a mile of Lybrook Elementary. 'You smell that?' he said, nodding towards a nearby wellhead, which smelled like propane. 'That's what the kids at the school are breathing in. I've had people visiting this area from New York. They spend five minutes here and say, 'Hey, I got a headache.' And the kids are what, six hours a day at the school breathing this?' Lybrook school officials did not respond to requests for comment. Researchers have identified similar air quality problems in New Mexico's southeast. In 2023, a team of scientists from a coalition of universities conducted a detailed, yearlong study of the air in Loving, a small town in the Permian Basin. Local air quality, researchers found, was worse than in downtown Los Angeles, and the tested air contained the fifth-highest level of measured ozone contamination in the U.S. The source of the ozone — a pollutant that's especially hazardous to children — was the area's network of gas wells and related infrastructure. Some of that infrastructure sits within a half-mile of a campus that houses Loving's elementary, middle and high schools. A small group of residents has spoken out about the area's air quality, saying it has caused respiratory problems and other health issues. But for most locals, any concerns about pollution are outweighed by the industry's economic benefits. Representatives of the oil and gas industry have claimed the air quality studies themselves are not trustworthy. 'There needs to be a robust study to actually answer these questions,' said Andrea Felix, vice president of regulatory affairs for the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA). Felix said other sources of emissions, such as cars and trucks, are likely a larger source of air quality problems near wells. 'Companies follow the best available science' for well placement and emissions controls, Felix said, and also contribute huge amounts of money to the state's education budget through streams like royalties and direct expenditures. In the most recent fiscal year, oil and gas revenue supported $1.7 billion in K-12 spending in New Mexico, according to a NMOGA report. Officials with Loving Municipal Schools are also skeptical of the alarm over the wells. Loving Superintendent Lee White said the school district used funds from the oil and gas industry to pay for a new wing at the elementary school, a science lab for students, turf on the sports field and training and professional development for teachers. He said the industry's contributions to state coffers can't be ignored. 'Are we willing to give that up because people say our air is not clean?' he said during an interview. 'It's just as clean as anywhere else.' As White spoke, a drill rig worked a couple of miles east of Loving's elementary school while parents poured into the gymnasium to watch kindergartners collect their diplomas. White touted the district's success, saying the elementary school scores above state averages for reading, math and science proficiency, while Loving's high school students far outpace the state average for college and career readiness. But environmental groups, attorneys and residents continue to push for limits on drilling near schools. Those efforts saw a boost in 2023, when New Mexico State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard issued an executive order prohibiting new oil and gas leases on state-owned land within a mile of schools. Industry representatives decried the move, saying it added potentially insurmountable costs and barriers to drilling operators. However, AP's analysis found that relatively few wells would be impacted even if the rule applied to all of New Mexico; only around 1 percent of oil and gas wells in the state are within a mile of a school. In the years since, residents of areas where exploration is heavy have lobbied for legislation prohibiting gas operations within a mile of schools, regardless of land status. That bill died in committee during the most recent session of the New Mexico legislature. Advocates have also sued the state over an alleged lack of pollution controls. That suit is currently pending in state court. Ed Williams is a staff reporter for Searchlight New Mexico. Susan Montoya Bryan is Southwest Chief Correspondent for the Associated Press. AP journalist Sharon Lurye contributed to this report from New Orleans.
