JFD,
Several posts here today bear witness to the increasing crescendo of "impartial" observers urging Bill G and MSFT to back down, admit they harmed consumers, kiss the DOJs behind, and acquiesce to the controllers and regulators of the free market.
Headline news story today is the DOJ going after Visa/MasterCard as their latest effort to "protect" consumers from the evil capitalists.
This morning I turned on my Windows PC, opened Internet Explorer, went to a website where I ordered a book, and paid for it with a no annual fee credit card with a 25 day interest free grace period for payment in full, and that also guarentees complete coverage in the unlikely event that the card number is stolen online. Click, enter, and the book will arrive at my house in a day or two and I will have at least a month to pay for it without interest or penalty.
Consider my alternative if these "exploiters of consumers" didn't exist. I would have to get in the car, drive to the bank and withdraw cash from my interest bearing account, and since I live in a rural area, drive 60 miles to the nearest large book store, hoping to find the book I wanted in stock. I'll burn $15 worth of gas, contribute to adding pollutants into the air, and waste up three or four hours of time that I could use more productively.
Oh yes, I'm so grateful that the government is diligently using vast amounts of my tax dollars to "protect my consumers rights" and save us all from the evil monopolists. Gives me a real warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that the DOJ has my best interests at heart.
-JB |
