Potter is not selling — he’s buying

One of my all-time favorite movies is It’s a Wonderful Life. A key scene features a run on the bank. Over at the Bailey Building & Loan, shareholders cram in, wanting their money. Since the bank has just closed. And they have expenses.

George Bailey tells them that Henry Potter, the richest man in town, has just bought the bank. It will reopen in a week.

Someone asks if Potter guaranteed the Building & Loan. George says he didn’t even ask.

George’s argument is this: We’re all panicking. Potter is not. He’s buying. On the cheap. He’ll own the entire town for next to nothing. Because he stayed cool and everyone else panicked.

That’s a good argument — within limits. For at least one of the cash-starved customers, Potter’s offer of 50 cents on the dollar for shares of the Building & Loan is seriously enticing. Because it’s something right now. When everything is tanking.

Eventually, George is able to talk his customers off the ledge and the Building & Loan ends the day with $2 in cash. Enough to not be bankrupt.

The Building & Loan is saved and because it’s saved, there’s a better future ahead for Bedford Falls.

Like Potter, George also sees opportunity. Just a different kind. To Potter, the economic meltdown is a green light to…