If the government can't be counted on for support, then what happens?

-- Jim (waitingisthehardpart@aol.com), September 11, 1999

Answers

Jim, history is full of answers to that question. I think you already know.

-- Dan G (earth_changes@hotmail.com), September 11, 1999.

If you live within 7 miles of an ATM, your money is toast.
(Apologies to Milne (?))
Cash -- withdraw early and withdraw often
(Then convert some/much/whatever to REAL stuff -- Water/Water sources/Water treatment, guns, grub, and gold.)

-- A (A@AisA.com), September 11, 1999.

It boils down to whether or not you trust the leadership in this country or not. "It's the economy stupid" will soon become, "it's the stupid economy."

I hear daily from the sheeple that they plan to pull extra money out of the bank before the end of the year, but don't plan to buy anything with it to prepare. When I ask "if you are concerned about the banks, don't you think you should be equally concerned about everything else? After all if there is trouble in the banks, won't everything else be affected too?" They don't get it. This is where the problem comes from. When they do GI, the trouble will start, only it will be too late. It won't be from the ones already prepared, but we will get the blame.

As much as I try, I can't put much faith into self reporting either. I cannot picture any company president stepping forward and saying "I regret to inform the stockholders of this corporation that our efforts to fix our Year 2000 problems were started too late, and as a result we will not finish in time. You will be pleased to know that I have personally fired the half-wits who could not convince me to take this issue more seriously, sooner. I have fired the head of the IT department because it all their fault. Damn programmers, just fix the f**king things, but no, they had to have all new stuff. Finally I gave them all the money they said they needed, and now they say they don't have enough time. Slackers!! They did this to me just to make me look bad. As a result of their incompetence, I am resigning my position. Do not be concerned for my personal welfare, as I have sold all my company stock months ago, and have set up my retreat complete with solar, a well, and have plenty of food and gold coins."

I have a lot of faith, but not in the system.

-- Bill (bill@tinfoil.com), September 11, 1999.

If Y2K is really bad, people's lack of faith in gov't will have nothing to do with their attitude towards money. They will have to continue to use U.S. fiat money because that's all that will be available. It's not the gov't guarantee that makes our money valuable; it's the confidence we have that it can be used as a trade medium. This will continue even in a nasty breakdown simply because that's what people will have, all they will have.

-- cody varian (cody@y2ksurvive.com), September 11, 1999.

The loss of faith in the US government is already happening. It is called changes in the dollar exchange rate particularly by the Japanese who hold hundreds of billions of US debt. If months ago, it took 125 yen to buy $1 and now it takes 110 yen to buy $1, the dollar is worth less. How low will it go? What if the dollar declines further? What if it drops so that only 80 or 60 yen are required to buy $1? Other governments will lose faith and imports in the US will be more expensive, prices will rise, interest rates will rise, and the stock market could crash. Unemployment would increase and we could have a major recession or depression. Japan crashed in 1989 and has not yet recovered. A 3 day storm? Ha. Once it starts, where will it stop? Maybe it has already started but the numbers are "adjusted" to conceal it. Curly has trouble understanding this stuff but even he can see that we will not have good times forever.

-- Moe (Moe@3stooges.gom), September 12, 1999.