Minors Fund Losses and Politics

WLOS reported on the outrage among parents. I'm sorry to have missed last night's meeting in Birdtown last night, but I did see the noted report. Principal Chief Michell Hicks called it a political ploy. "There are individuals that are trying to get some mileage making tribal leaders look bad," he said. Well yeah, those seeking to unseat incumbents are going to campaign on this issue. If one recalls, Obama and other Democrats got into office campaigning on the poor economic situations caused in part by his predecessor. However, the writing was on the wall before the crash, particularly with real estate, and those with the power to do something chose to do nothing. As one parent noted, tribal leaders made themselves look bad.
When you hand your enemy a loaded gun, don't be surprised if they shoot you with it. Tribal members have every right to be angry about this issue, and the status quo is giving opponents plenty of ammunition, with this, with padding benefits during hard economic times, with downplaying how bad things really are.
The fact is the kids' money was being invested in incredibly risky ventures, which is fine with part of a retirement portfolio designed for withdrawals in 30-35 years. With retirement portfolios, account holders have the option to rearrange their investments into low risk investments to protect their assets. These children, whose investments were to be 15-18 years in most cases, didn't have that option. Some kids were planning to use that money for college, and for most people $20,000 is a lot to lose. There were and are less risky ways to invest this money that not only with grow the money but will minimize, even prohibit losses.
Yes this is a political issue, but the anger is real.

Hey Folks, This Minors Fund Fiasco Has Happend Before

Check out this story done in 2003, back in good economic times, about the Minors Fund. How the years have flown by. It gives true credence to the statement, "Those who fail to remember the past are doomed to repeat it." Let's not make it a threepeat. Encourage your Council members to correct this problem. If they choose to do nothing, vote them out.

Got Children? Want to Know What to Do About Their Minors' Fund Losses? Attend This Birdtown Meeting

A meeting has been scheduled to discuss the Minor's Fund Fiasco. It takes place at 6 p.m. at the Birdtown Community Building. I've got to hand it to the community clubs. More action happens at this level than ever happens at the Tribal Council or executive level. So far on this issue they're the only ones taking it upon themselves to address this Minor's Fund issue whereby tribal government had essentially taken the children's money and blew it on a craps table. $60 million total lost at the end of last year, and that total is probably much more now. Yes the stock market, where much of the money was invested, was bad, but there were plenty of indicators well before the big crash last fall that would've shown that maybe some of this money should've been placed in less risky investments.
Since so many of my fellow community members in Cherokee County have not received statements about the state of their children's accounts I particularly want to encourage tribal members in Cherokee County to attend this meeting. Bring your questions. I of course would like to ask why members in Cherokee County have had such a delay in receiving their children's statements, especially when those in other communities, including Snowbird, have.
Three members of the investment committee have reportedly resigned. So far Tribal Council's response has been to throw the Investment Committee under the bus, no suggestions yet or any concrete proposals on how to fix the problem, let alone prevent it from happening again. As a soon-to-be-parent, I'd like the option to invest my child's account as I see fit, which right now is in T bills, CD's and high interest Orange accounts. I don't trust tribal government to manage my child's account appropriately, and if the tribe had a right to recall elected officials, this certain would be just such cause for those at the executive level.