The Conservative Cat

I'm sure you know the story. If not, Wizbang has a full page of articles. Basically, the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club loaned around $800K to Air America. During one of its financial meltdowns, Air America used a clever accounting trick to relieve itself of the necessity of paying back the money.

The central figure of the controversy is a man named Evan Cohen, who was on the board of both Gloria Wise and Air America. It is not surprising that an organization devoted to liberal partisanship would have a high-ranking official who is also involved in a charitable organization, but it's worth noting that the only reason the loan came to light is that Air America defaulted, and the only reason anybody noticed that is Gloria Wise gets heavy government funding.

I'm sure Evan Cohen and the people surrounding him thought the investment was safe, just as I'm sure Lyndon Baines Johnson thought the Great Society would eradicate poverty in his lifetime. Nonetheless, good intentions do not make good results, and when charities decide to make loans, they should consider that people might not be too happy to learn that money earmarked for needy kids is being used for risky financial schemes.

Respectfully submitted,

Ferdinand T. Cat