Letter from CSE Board Chairman C. Boyden Gray to the state attorneys general regarding the pending antitrust suit against Microsoft. The following is the text of a letter that was sent by CSE Board Chairman C. Boyden Gray to each of the state attorneys general. Justice is done when the innocent are protected, the wronged are righted and all are afforded the same treatment under the law. Economic regulation bears a very heavy burden of justification, which has not been met, and pursuit of the pending antitrust suit against the Microsoft Corporation is economic regulation pure and simple. At its essence, economic regulation is a statement of belief.
Regulators believe that they know more about what is good for consumers than consumers do.
This belief leads to some indefensible conclusions. For example, some of your colleagues believe that they know the best way to organize the marketplace or how to combine various software programs. This is absurd. Competition in a free market produces the best combination of quality, service and price while encouraging innovation. As a result, consumers benefit.