John - BREAK it up.
YEA!!! DO IT!!! And while they're at it, let's nip the rest of those monopolies-in-training. Intel has 90% of the PC processor sales, and, come to think of it, they have 100% of the Intel-based server market!!! How did that happen? Fair play? I think not!! BREAK UP INTEL!!
CSCO has a near stranglehold on much of the network infrastructure, and is going after the rest. Nothing less than a structural remedy will slow those guys down!! BREAK UP CSCO!!!
And hey, the biggest infant monopoly of all - AOL? Those guys want it all - connections, content, and your on-line profile are just the beginning. Root out the cancer before it is too big to stop!! BREAK UP AOL!!!
And why stop there? We could develop a fast-track legal mechanism. Lots of people are already suggesting that MSFT should be taken right to the supreme court, skipping the appeals process. Why not just streamline some more? We're in a monopoly crisis, we need to process these criminals at internet speed!!!
My suggestion for that would be a single courtroom appearance. I mean 1 day. The prosecution would lay out the charges in an hour or two, and the criminals -er, I mean, defendants - would get a few hours to rebut the charges. They shouldn't need more than that - heck, everyone knows they're guilty as sin or they wouldn't be in court in the first place. Then the judge makes his decision on the spot, and imposes punishment. And that's the end - no appeals, no wasted time. Just smooth, efficient justice.
Now that I think of it, the federales have another mechanism they have been using more and more, along with state and local officials - ASSET SEIZURE!!! Now THERE's a real nuclear weapon!! If the government could seize the assets of any company even SUSPECTED of antitrust violations, without a trial - the way they can today of anyone even suspected of drug offences - think of the effect!! Those pirates would think twice if all they had to do was LOOK like a monopoly to have their assets seized and used to pay for new highways or the next big defense program. MSFT would have become the federal department of software back in 1993!!!
I bet that no company would even try for more than 30% of any market - why take the chance? Of course, the government can always re-define a market to be, say, the market for desktop machines carrying the "DELL" logo, in which case DELL has a 100% monopoly!!! Jump on them, seize their assets, let them come back at the government to get them back!!! That would put the shoe on the other foot!! |
