Experimental evidence from UC Berkeley strongly confirms that rich people are more likely to break the law while driving, cheat in a game of chance, lie during negotiations and endorse unethical behavior, including stealing at work. Conversely, take someone who is rich and make them feel poor, and they become more generous. But clever fat cats merely exploit the window dressing of charity to further enrich and empower themselves. Nick Checota’s LogJam Foundation is a good case in point. While Checota’s $50,000 Public Library wealth transfer is being framed as a “donation”, the real incentives for parking money in foundations involve huge tax benefits. And despite Logjam’s claim that they are “committed to the sustainability of the community”, they demonstrate an utter contempt for said community by depleting the Missoula Redevelopment Agency piggy bank by $16.5 million. This week’s $50k “donation” seems little more than a public relations smokescreen to obfuscate the biggest taxpayer giveaway in Montana State history.