Microsoft's Breakup Represents Judicial Dictatorship-By Harsha Sankar

Dear Citizen, June 2000

Judge Thomas P. Jackson’s decision to break up Microsoft represents judicial dictatorship at its worst. There is no statutory justification for this. Unlike AT&T or Standard Oil, Microsoft is not a government-created and/or government-regulated monopoly. For one person to break up a company based on his/her interpretation (personal whim) is tyrannical and it goes against the grain of representative government in a free society.

The real losers will not be just Chairman Bill Gates, but the average investor who has an IRA, pension plan, employee stock option plan, insurance policy and even bank deposits. There are nearly a thousand mutual funds who invest in Microsoft. So, while Bill Gates’ $25 billion loss in personal worth may not bring tears to the eyes of most people, certainly the plight of tens of thousands of portfolio holders should. Many stand to lose thousands due not just to Microsoft’s loss, but also to the depreciation of the high tech sector to the tune of a trillion dollars.

What if this judge’s logic applied in basketball? The Chicago bulls would have been disbanded in 1992. They would have found guilty of predatory trade practices because they had the best player, the best small forward,the best rebounder,the best three-point shooter, the best 6^th man, and the best coach.

The entire lawsuit enriched attorneys on both sides. This is a classic case of attorneys transferring wealth unto themselves. This also demonstrates the fact that Microsoft’s “paltry” donations to politics will not give them the same “protection” that Exxon-Mobil and the like now enjoy in this era of mega-mergers.

If Judge Jackson is really concerned about the impact of monopolies, he just needs to look in the mirror. All jurists are attorneys. Even the executive branch, especially the prosecutorial offices and attorney generals’ offices,are reserved for bar association members.

As Ross Perot would say, this (judicial activism) is “going to create a huge sucking sound.” It is not going to just come from the south. Enterprises and capital are going to the nations to a much greater extent just to escape the clutches of our corrupt legal system.

People need to prioritize and place legal reform as the top set of issues. If America is strong within, it can withstand NWO pressures from abroad.