:: Netmarcos' Notes ::

:: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 ::

What goes around... Comes around.

Larry Ellison must have had a Seinfeld (search ) moment when told that his nemesis, Conway, had hired Larry’s former comrade-in-arms, Reback, to bring in the feds. I can see Larry now, grinding his teeth, mumbling, “Reback!!” just like Jerry would with Newman.
Larry Ellison does not make many mistakes. But his decision to bring the Department of Justice and state Attorneys General into the business of the high tech sector could be the one he most regrets. His tactics and the plans of his colleagues are now being used against him and his effort to buy PeopleSoft.
Is turnabout fair play? Perhaps, but the precedent that has been set is a dangerous one. Larry Ellison and a few other powerful Microsoft competitors invited the government to come into the industry to target their rival. They did so for selfish reasons, but now they may see the tables turned, as Milton Friedman predicted. Once the government has the power to regulate part of the tech industry, it will likely expand its reach and the entire industry and the economy will suffer.
Larry Ellison is now stuck in Seinfeld’s “Bizarro World” and I have a sneaky feeling that he is regretting the day he invited the government into Silicon Valley.

:: Mark 6:09 PM [+] ::
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