JPMorgan Chase's New Jets

Has JPMorgan Chase decided to add its own digit to the phalanx of middle fingers being waved at taxpayers by companies like AIG and Citigroup? ABC News reports that “Embattled bank JPMorgan Chase, the recipient of $25 billion in TARP funds, is going ahead with a $138 million plan to buy two new luxury corporate jets and build ‘the premiere corporate aircraft hangar on the eastern seaboard’ to house them.” The two jets will cost $120 million, while the hangar at Westchester Airport in New York will cost $18 million. A spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase emphasized that no TARP money will be spent on the project and that it will repay its taxpayer money before proceeding with the plans.