When Washington is on the brink, who has the clout to persuade legislators to keep government open? The obvious answer is the US president. A better one is Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase. With last week’s vote in doubt, Mr Dimon helped to arm-twist Congress to pass a bill to keep the Federal government running for most of next year. What a splendid public service, I hear you say. In fact, his motive was more specific. The bill included an unrelated item allowing banks to resume derivatives trading from their taxpayer-insured arms. That ban is now history. Who other than a Wall Street titan could demand — and receive — such a service?
在华盛顿濒临悬崖边缘之际，能够说服议员们不让美国政府关门的人是谁？对于这个问题，显而易见的答案是美国总统。更好的答案则是摩根大通(JPMorgan Chase)首席执行官杰米•戴蒙(Jamie Dimon)。在上周的投票结果岌岌可危之际，戴蒙帮助对国会加大压力，迫使国会通过了能让联邦政府在明年大半年保持运转的议案。读者可能会感慨：这是多么出色的公共服务啊。不过，事实上他的动机更具体一些。该法案中包括了一个无关条款，允许银行在得到纳税人担保的分支机构重启衍生品交易。如今，这项禁令已成历史。除了华尔街巨头，还有什么人可以要求——并得到——这样的“服务”？