A Bailout for Charities
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Why doesn't the government bail out the charities that lost money investing in Bernard Madoff's apparent Ponzi scheme ["Jewish Charities Scramble to Cover Losses to Trader," news story, Dec. 24]?
Many of the companies that have been bailed out this year clearly are responsible for their own misfortune. Banks, for example, gave mortgages to people who could not afford them. When the banks began to collapse, the government rescued them.
The Madoff scandal is different. The Securities and Exchange Commission investigated Mr. Madoff's company after questions were raised by financial professionals and journalists; staff members concluded, on the basis of documents provided by Mr. Madoff and hedge funds that invested with him, that everything was okay. Had the SEC investigated further, it would have discovered Mr. Madoff's scheme before its toll could become so great.
This lack of oversight makes the government responsible for the charities' monetary losses.
MICHAEL GREENBERG
Rockville
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