Economy and the Minors Fund

At the last Cherokee County Community Club meeting, Principal Chief Michell Hicks made the statement that he felt as though we'd found the bottom of this economic slump. I hope he's right. However, President Obama has wisely stated that we're not out of the woods yet.
Optimism is fine, but it needs to be tempered with reality and caution. Yes there are positive signs that could be forecasting a turnaround, but there still are plenty of negative aspects to the economy as well.
Some positives - the tribe hasn't laid anyone off yet. The casino so far is still making profits to the point where tribal members can get per capita payments from it.
Negatives - casino revenue obviously has been down, and the casino has had layoffs. Hotel occupancy has been down, and Cherokee's surrounding attractions have shown decreasing visitation. Decreases in visitation and hotel occupancy mean decreases in tribal revenue.
Even in good times, there still exists a need to protect the tribe's assets and the children's assets as well. The fact that many adults, myself included, lost their own money due to the market conditions is hardly comforting. Nor is it consolation to say, "The kids were just going to blow it when they turn 18." At least it was theirs to blow, and at 18 they had a choice in the matter. The losses to the minors was put upon them through no fault of theirs, and they had no choice.
There's nothing wrong with diversifying investments to grow the kids' per capita disbursements, even if it included stocks. However, as it is with many retirement plans, account holders have the option to change their investment strategy in a manner that protects the interest added to the principal (some kids did lose principal in contrast to the political rhetoric produced by the status quo) as the account holders get closer to withdrawal age. The kids are entitled to interest grown on their accounts just as much as the principal. And in contrast to the opinion that there was no way to avoid these losses, there was. Just ask Donald Rose, an accomplished businessman who actually made money from his investments last year.
There are going to be ups and downs in the economy. While it's fine to maximize growth in assets for the tribe during good times, the assets built in those times need protection during the bad times. Sound financial planning will be crucial for the future of the tribe.