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BAILOUTS, PORK and CORRUPTION

“Blagojevich One In A Chain of Many”
Statement by Andrew M. Langer, President of the Institute for Liberty:

“While his abuses of power are shocking at the very least, it is completely unsurprising that
Governor Blagojevich is being accused of such crimes. Anytime a government official has the
power to transfer vast sums of money from one group of people to another, that official can
easily be tempted to play favorites given the right price. Blagojevich is one in an chain of many:
William Jefferson, Duke Cunningham, Jack Abramoff—all of these scandals have at their heart
the willingness of individuals to trade political favors for money. The Institute for Liberty is
intimately familiar with at least one of the favors Governor Blagojevich is accused of trading:
his signature on a bill that transfers millions of money from a successful Illinois industry to a
failing one. He allegedly would have personally profited from those taxes, the idea of which
makes me personally angry.

“What’s clear here is that we need to sharply limit government’s ability to dole out massive sums
of money—especially in this era where government bailouts seem to be the order of the day.
Limitations on amounts, limitations on power, and strong rules on transparency and
accountability are essential.”

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Andrew Langer is available for immediate media booking. Call the Institute for Liberty to
schedule an interview at (202) 261-6592. The Institute for Liberty is a non-profit think tank and
advocacy organization based in Washington, DC.