Breitbart Business Digest Weekly Wrap: Destroying New York City for Fun and Profit
Welcome to Friday! This is a weekly roundup of news and views from the business, economics, and finance realms during the 250th anniversary of this great republic. No special occasion bins were damaged in the production of this newsletter.
This week, a JPMorgan executive was sentenced to prison for stealing a trash can painted in the colors of the New York Knicks. Meanwhile, inflation dashed hopes for a Fed rate cut this year, and New York City’s landlords received an even sweeter deal from their socialist mayor. He’s the one who helped Americans gain independence, so let’s dive in!
Trash DEI Banker Loses Her Job
Knicks fans celebrated their NBA championship in the city by parading with trash cans decked out in the team’s blue and orange. A video of her engaging in a mix of littering, vandalism, and theft went viral shortly after the Knicks’ victory parade, prompting shock at the boldness of her behavior.
She was a JPMorgan Chase executive, or at least she was. “Angie Baez, 40, was promoted to Executive Director of Community and Industry Engagement for Cards and Connected Commerce at JPMorgan Chase over a year ago,” noted a report. Apparently, the bank labeled this role as a DEI initiative behind the scenes.
When the video emerged, JPMorgan conducted an investigation and subsequently fired her. Stealing in public simply isn’t acceptable—regardless of your position. I suppose that’s something they want to reinforce. Banks rely on trust from customers who deposit their money with them. If she would steal a trash can on camera, what else might she do?
“It’s obvious she’s not fit for finance. Everyone on Wall Street understands that,” commented one banker. “Never commit a crime in front of witnesses.”
It seems that this instance highlights issues related to the DEI ideology that enabled her employment in the first place.
The abdication of personal responsibility seems to be a core feature of the institutionalized DEI framework that Baez has long promoted. In DEI’s moral hierarchy, individuals are evaluated not by their actions but by where they land on the oppression pyramid. Under this model, victimhood attributes are valued, while all blame is shifted to the nebulous “system” controlled by the elite.
It’s a focus on structural racism, systemic bias, and pervasive patriarchy. But the movement appears so intent on attributing failures to external forces that it neglects the role of personal accountability.
If “the system” is rigged and you portray yourself as a perpetual victim, why work on improving your own actions? Why respect public property when it’s viewed as just a tool of the so-called “oppressed class”?
Baez’s reported salary was about $300,000. She was recognized for her community engagement efforts. To put it in perspective, that painted Knicks can might just be one of the priciest trash cans around.
Inflation Gets Four Handles; Warsh Fed Cut Dreams Dashed
The Commerce Department revealed that the personal consumption expenditure price index rose 4.1% in May compared to the same month last year. This index is what the Fed officially uses to hit its 2% inflation target. A significant portion of this increase was due to soaring gasoline prices in May, which hit a national average exceeding $4.50 per gallon. Now, they’ve dipped to about $3.90. Regardless of the specific factors, it’s unlikely inflation will dip to target levels to prompt a rate cut from the Fed.
Moreover, there are no signs pointing to interest rate cuts anytime soon. The economy seems to be thriving—actually, better than just okay. Over the last three months, we’ve seen an average addition of 188,000 jobs monthly, which is more than enough to keep the labor market stable. Layoffs seem mostly confined to headlines and Silicon Valley. Claims for unemployment benefits were last reported at 215,000, close to the lowest in a while. Core capital goods orders rose significantly, and household spending went up 0.7% in nominal terms in May. There’s no urgent need for a friendlier monetary policy right now.
Looking ahead, there are four more Fed meetings lined up before year’s end. The next takes place at the end of July, when another month’s inflation data will arrive. Even with a downturn in consumer prices next month, it doesn’t guarantee the Fed will cut rates. As it stands, there’s a roughly 30% chance of a rate hike in the next meeting, with potential hikes anticipated before September and a moderate chance for two hikes by December. Bank of America analysts are even talking about three hikes.
But maybe it’s best to take a cautious stance here. If inflation proves to be more persistent than expected, a rate hike might still occur. However, we think that substantial evidence of sustained inflation would be needed before the Fed considers raising rates, and that doesn’t seem likely just yet. The Dallas Fed’s adjusted average PCE sits at around 2.4% over the last year, trending upwards but not overly concerning.
Victory in Manchuria and Mamdani’s Rent Freeze
New York’s Rent Guidelines Committee has put in place a mandatory rent control policy. Who could object to some helpful guidelines from the government?
Well, these “guidelines” aren’t really loose suggestions at all. They are legally binding orders governing rent across a significant portion of apartments in New York City. This week, the city’s Rent Board mandated that rent will not increase at all for all one- or two-year leases. Yes, zero increases—this marks the first time rent has been frozen at zero rates for these types of contracts.
“This is a historic victory for New York City tenants,” Mayor Zoran Mamdani proclaimed after the board approved this freeze. He had campaigned for such a measure.
But let’s not kid ourselves. Yes, it might seem like a win for tenants, but what about the landlords? It sounds more like confiscation when landlords aren’t allowed to set market prices. Rent stabilization restricts market supply and liquidity, ultimately raising market prices for everyone else. The overall quality of city housing tends to decline since landlords have diminished income for maintenance and repairs.
And what about social justice? Interestingly, rent stabilization doesn’t directly benefit the poorest renters but often rewards households with higher incomes. Around 30% of residents in rent-stabilized units earn over $100,000. In fact, the average rent for a rent-stabilized two-bedroom apartment is close to $1,781, while the market value stands at around $2,572—a substantial difference.
The late film director Nora Ephron famously held onto an eight-room apartment for just $1,500 a month, having once bribed a previous tenant. She was furious when market rates climbed to $10,000—her sentiment was understandable. She lost her stabilized rent in 2006 when landlords were permitted to charge market rates for higher-earning tenants. Nowadays, high-income tenants have no such exit strategies for landlords. Ironically, someone like Baez could potentially pay a fraction of market rent while receiving a hefty salary.
As for the notion that rent stabilization preserves a neighborhood’s character? That doesn’t hold up. A large percentage of rent-stabilized apartments are occupied by residents who were born elsewhere.
Rent stabilization often resembles a lottery, a form of passive income, and apartments handed down through generations. Selling an apartment for significantly less than its market value is not a practical choice. The idea of apartment royalty seems detached from any noble sense of duty toward those paying full price.
Haim We Hardly Knew You
This week, rather than the usual history features, we spotlight Haim Salomon for our American 250 segment.
Salomon, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, overcame challenges including being arrested twice by the British—once narrowly escaping execution. He eventually fled to Philadelphia, where he became a critical financial broker for Robert Morris, significantly aiding in funding the Revolution. His fee? A mere half percent when others were charging much more.
Revolutions can’t be won on might alone; they require expert financial management, too.
