States' Remedy Will Harm Consumers
Yahoo | at | by Mike
Antitrust remedies that nine states are seeking against Microsoft Corp. would harm consumers by raising prices and stifling innovation, a University of Virginia economist said Wednesday. Kenneth G. Elzinga, testifying as an expert witness for Microsoft, said many of the penalties proposed by the states are unrelated to the violations of antitrust law that a federal appeals court found and appear designed more to protect Microsoft's competitors than consumers.
Elzinga said that proposal would "essentially eliminate, or at least cripple" Windows. Other penalties proposed by the states, he argued, "will reduce Microsoft's incentives to innovate, will raise its costs of production and will prevent it from engaging in activity that tends to lower prices and improve quality."