Court of Appeals Sides with Taxpayers; Innovation, Not Litigation
WASHINGTON, June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Citizens Against Government Waste
(CAGW) today cheered the U.S. Court of Appeals for its landmark decision
vacating the breakup of the Microsoft Corporation after more than three months
of deliberation.
"This decision marks a return to rational antitrust jurisprudence and is a
victory for taxpayers, investors, and the entire information economy," CAGW
President Tom Schatz said. "Hopefully this case can now end quickly. We call
on Attorney General John Ashcroft and the 19 state attorneys general involved
to reach a fair and speedy settlement so Microsoft, taxpayers, the government,
and the Nasdaq can all move on."
"This litigation was never about legal misconduct but about competitors
hoping to leverage political pull to get the Department of Justice to do what
their products could not," Schatz also said. "Free-market competition may be
a tough business, but innovation, not litigation, benefits society most in the
long run."
"The Microsoft case has put taxpayers on the hook for at least $35 million
in costs at the federal and state levels," Schatz added. "Investors have
watched their portfolios nosedive by trillions of dollars since the U.S.
District Court decision to break up Microsoft last June. Additionally,
economists have estimated Microsoft's breakup could cost consumers $60 billion
in higher software costs."
"It's time for everyone involved in the case to get serious about
resolving their differences, particularly the state attorneys general who have
pledged to appeal the case all the way to the Supreme Court," Schatz
concluded. "That course of action would only waste more time and money, and
further disrupt the technology marketplace."
CAGW is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, dedicated to eliminating
waste, fraud, and abuse in government.
TOM SCHATZ IS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS ON THE MICROSOFT CASE
SOURCE Citizens Against Government Waste
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Related links:
http://www.cagw.org
CONTACT:
Sean Rushton or Melissa Naudin of Citizens
Against Government Waste, 202-467-5300
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