Nation's Largest Taxpayer Group Blasts Breakdown of
Microsoft Talks
ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The 300,000-member National Taxpayers
Union (NTU), the nation's largest and oldest taxpayer organization, today strongly
condemned Saturday's breakdown of settlement talks between Microsoft, the U.S.
Department of Justice, and State Attorneys General. NTU President John Berthoud said, ``It seems clear to us that many in the
government particularly some overzealous state Attorneys General -- would rather seek headlines that make headway toward
ending this case. The failure of the Attorneys General to come to terms means millions more in taxpayer dollars will now be
sunk into a case that never should have been brought in the first place.'
Berthoud observed that, ``Judge Posner pointedly did not mention state Attorneys General when he praised the efforts of the
Department of Justice and Microsoft in seeking a resolution. That omission seems to make pretty clear who were the obstacles
to reaching a reasonable settlement.'
NTU noted that the case against Microsoft is just another example of the recent trend towards regulation through litigation.
``Whether it is Microsoft, tobacco companies, or gun manufacturers, it is clear that state Attorneys General, trial lawyers, and
other interested parties are seeking to impose their political agendas through lawsuits rather than the legislative process,'
observed Berthoud. NTU noted that even former Clinton Administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich, long a proponent of
government activism, has expressed concerns about this trend. In a piece for the American Prospect, Reich wrote:
If I had my way, there'd be laws restricting cigarettes and handguns. [But] the White House is launching lawsuits to succeed
where legislation failed. The strategy may work, but at the cost of making our frail democracy even weaker. . . You might
approve the outcomes in these two cases, but they establish a precedent for other cases you might find wildly unjust.
``We think it is past time to put an end to this lawsuit, which has wasted millions of tax dollars in an effort to regulate the
high-tech industry through this litigation,' Berthoud concluded.
NTU's educational arm, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, recently released an Issue Brief entitled, ``Big Government,
Big Contributions, and Little Taxpayers: Whose Interests Are Attorneys General Really Protecting With Government
Lawsuits?,' which methodically examines the roles of state Attorneys General in a number of high-profile legal actions.
NTU is a nonprofit, nonpartisan citizen group founded in 1969 to work for lower taxes, less wasteful spending, and
accountable government at all levels. Further information is available online at www.ntu.org . |
