But Potter had to be a miserable, crippled old man whom everybody hated. George was so loved, his many friends and relatives happily rallied to come up with money to get him out of a jam. So it doesn't matter that the mean old miser got to keep the cash, George had the wonderful life.
True but I sure wish ... like in Christmas Carol how Scrooge turned his life around. Potter was like Scrooge but never repented.
In real life, someone like Potter might get away with stealing all of that money, and someone like that does not care what the consequences are for an innocent person. Contrast that with the people who sacrifice to help George. In a cosmic justice scenario Potter would have been found out and the money would be recovered and nothing is really lost. But life isn’t always that easy and satisfying. Instead, the money really is lost but the good townspeople pay a debt they don’t really owe in order to help George.