Most Americans remember the scene from the classic movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” George Bailey jubilantly enters his Building and Loan after spreading the news around town that his brother Harry had won the Congressional Medal of Honor. George’s celebration is interrupted when he’s met by the state bank examiner who is there to confirm that the company’s books are in order.
George deadpans to the bank examiner, “Uh, well, between you and me, Mr. Carter, we’re broke.”
The remark, which George thought was a joke, turned out to be the truth, as across town George’s well-meaning but bumbling uncle was simultaneously misplacing a large sum of company cash, which would wind up in the hands of Mr. Potter, the villainous owner of the town bank.
There are similar themes at play in real-world Washington, D.C., today—misplaced funds ending up in the wrong…
