Information Technology and U.S. Competitiveness
Computer Software. The U.S. is also the world's leader in computer software. Almost all major computer software today is designed and produced by U.S. companies. The IBM PC may be the most used platform for personal users, but Microsoft Corporation's Windows and Windows NT operating systems are the most used software. Microsoft's competitors are not Japanese; they are American companies like IBM and Apple. The Internet is a driving force behind the innovation of a host of new computer software products.
How to Maintain America's Edge in the Information Market
Since American companies are responsible for the largest portion of Internet activity, they stand to gain the most from its expected future growth. The question is whether the U.S. will maintain its competitive edge in this field or lose its dominance of this market as it lost its dominance of the market for another U.S. inventions, like the video cassette recorder. The answer is that as long as the federal government permits U.S. companies to maintain sound business practices and provides an unregulated Internet, American computer firms will remain competitive, because they have been able to link suppliers, producers, financial institutions, and other key elements of the manufacturing process.
Specifically, U.S. policymakers would do well to develop a strategy to enhance America's competitive position in information technology by:
1. Allowing Strategic Alliances. By choosing to incorporate Microsoft's DOS operating system into all its computers, IBM was able to avoid the higher cost of having to write its own software operating system. Today, American computer companies have joint ventures and strategic alliances with companies that make software, microprocessors, memory chips, and circuit boards. This allows computer manufacturers to reduce their costs while pooling their resources with those of their partners to research and develop new technologies.
2. Reforming U.S. Antitrust Laws. In order to accomplish the above law, U.S. antitrust laws should be amended. Originally, these laws were focused on preventing predatory pricing for the purpose of destroying competitors. The burden of proof was on the accuser, who had to prove in a court of law that the defendant was purposefully and knowingly attempting to monopolize a market by destroying its competitors. However, U.S. antitrust laws enacted to prevent monopolies are being abused by overzealous government bureaucrats bent on destroying successful American firms.
Microsoft Corporation is a good example. The U.S. government has investigated the company numerous times since 1992 for allegedly seeking
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