During the last few years, a threat known as the Year 2000 bug - Y2K, for short - has caused a worldwide concern for the future of life as we know it.  Not since the coming of the Messiah has such an event  been anticipated.  The amount of money, resources, and preparation that has been poured into Y2K have reached astronomical proportions.  Literally billions of dollars, millions of labor hours, and countless books, magazines and journal articles have largely contributed to rectifying this problem, only to fall well short of the universal goal of keeping Y2K from materializing.

    The problem stems from pioneering computer programmers who thought they could reduce the amount of memory required to keep track of the date by reducing the year to two digits.  For instance, instead of 1999, computers were programmed for 99.  When the clock strikes 12:00 A.M. on January 1, 2000, these computers will not recognize the year 2000, but 1900.

    This, it is believed, will crash all computers programmed this way.  How might the world at large be affected?  Until very recently, it was thought that bank accounts would be frozen, air traffic controller equipment would fail, and millions of businesses would witness their computer based systems suffer an irreparable crash.  However, a general consensus among industry experts proclaim that only minor inconveniences will result from Y2K.  Most banks are Y2k compliant at this point; even the head of the F.a.a., Jane Garvey, reserved a seat on a flight from washington to dallas on new year's eve.  she will fly at the stroke of midnight, greenwhich mean time, according to an article on the Cnet news.com webpage. (Reuters, 1999)

    As a nation, American businesses and government agencies have allocated $655 billion dollars to reprogram or relpace all mission-critical systems that recognize the two digit date format.  In addition, litigation lawyers are realizing an enormous chunk of change lining their pockets.  One estimate says that there is "...$2 to $3 in litigation associated with y2k for every dollar spent fixing the problem." (Decker, 1999)  If this is not enough, many companies are in business only because the y2k threat exists.  Hundreds of companies have been formed for the sole purpose of serving the y2k industry.  What they will do after the fact remains to be seen, but for now, they are reaping the benefits of a cynical world.

    In my opinion, y2k is grossly overrated.  what once was a moderate concern among those in the computer industry, media hype and rumors have manifested it into the mega frenzy it is today.  The consistency of predictions is nonexistent, ranging from "...life will end as we know it..." to "...just a minor bump in the road."  Those who believe the stock market will plunge prior to January 1, 2000 because of possible lack of consumer confidence will have to swallow their pride and realize that the stock market, on average, has only grown over the last two centuries, enduring a civil war, two world wars, and many other forces that try to bring it to a halt.  I believe y2k is not the ultimate force to stop this economic expansion.  True, y2k is an issue that was absolutely necessary to address and remedy.  As dependent as we are on computers, the health of our society depends on the efficiency and reliability of them.  However, civilization managed thousands of years without these devices, and most of the luxuries they control.  If y2k really was to destroy our automated society, human instinct would keep us alive, and natural selection would be the next issue with which to occupy ourselves.
 

Comarow, Avery.  Business and Technology: y2k doesn't bug them.  u.s. news world & report.  23 Nov 1998.  p. 54.

Decker, Jonathan p.  why y2k makes lawyers cackle with glee.  fortune.  12 apr 1999.  p. 40.

Faa head books flight for new year's.  Reuters.  7 may 1999.  online: cnet news.com - http://www.news.com/news/item/0,4,36273,00.html