what does he mean: "if they are allowed to go forward?"

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i recently read this article and was infuriated at the question posed by this pompous ass greenwood. what drives his mind to think he (or anyone else) has a say in what people do with their money? hot under the collar here at his insinuation.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/ctg581.htm

-- clayton (ratchetass@hotmail.com), November 06, 1999

Answers

Hello!?

You think you are free? The USA has been under a "state of emergency" for decades - the real thing, as formalized by the White House and/or Congress!

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@Anonymous99.xxx), November 06, 1999.


People's words often betray their most secret thoughts.

By the way, banks can do anything with your money. We are suckers for letting them get involved with handling it. Fewer tellers, more errors, lower interest paid on savings, higher ATM fees, banking hours which dont allow you to visit them when its most conveniant, constant changes in rules which we are not made aware of, etc....

-- hamster (hamster@mycage.com), November 06, 1999.


"'They are worried that these electronic devices are going to fail,' says Aileen Kaye, who works for the state's senior and disabled services division. 'It's a fear of technology.'"

Why doesn't someone try to explain to that moron that NASA seems to be subject to the same irrational "fear of technology".

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), November 06, 1999.


speaking of nasa...

i listened to a recording of a voicemail message from johnson controls yesterday. (they are a vendor of electronic controls systems which are used by my organization to control hvac and fire protection/alarm systems) the factory rep was frantic in telling one of our supervisors that our jc 80 computers (1978 vintage) could not be made compliant without total replacement. therefore... contingency plan time since these systems cannot physically be replaced prior to cdc. most interestingly, these systems have been programmed for replacement because johnson controls told us two years ago that, due to their advanced age, these jc 80s were only being maintained by their company because nasa was still using them.

-- clayton (ratchetass@hotmail.com), November 06, 1999.


..Officials say that bank accounts are secure and that money is safe there during risky times because it is insured.

Money is insured? Yah, right. And I have a bridge for sale, anyone interested?

-- karla (karlacalif@aol.com), November 06, 1999.



[ Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only ]

http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/ctg581.htm
11/05/99- Updated 10:14 AM ET

Will Y2K cash withdrawals be safe?

By Richard Wolf, USA TODAY

They remember the Depression. They don't trust technology. They rely on their savings.

Whatever the reason, many senior citizens are withdrawing money from banks, or making plans to do so, because of the Year 2000 computer bug.

Some of them, police say, have been mugged or robbed. Others have been preyed upon by Y2K scam artists. Still others are taking out too much money and hiding it at home.

"It's a total nightmare," says Paul Greenwood, chief prosecutor for elder abuse in the San Diego County district attorney's office. "We might expect a possible influx of robberies and street muggings if these withdrawals of cash are allowed to go forward."

Experts on Y2K have advised people to have a modest amount of cash on hand during the days after Jan. 1, 2000, in case of computer failures at ATMs or elsewhere.

But almost no one is advising large-scale withdrawals. Officials say that bank accounts are secure and that money is safe there during risky times because it is insured.

But in senior centers nationwide, officials say, the talk is of withdrawing money.

In Vallejo, Calif., officials say scores of seniors have taken out too much money. One woman withdrew $12,000 in cash, stopped at a department store and got mugged, says Jamie Mortensen, a senior abuse investigator for the police.

"We have a lot of seniors who are withdrawing large amounts of cash," Mortensen says. "They are terrified of this Y2K thing. They think everything's going to come to an end."

In Salem, Ore., bankers are warning tellers to watch for elderly depositors who could be victims of exploitation.

"They are worried that these electronic devices are going to fail," says Aileen Kaye, who works for the state's senior and disabled services division. "It's a fear of technology."

In Sun City, Fla., bank tellers were put on alert after seniors began making large withdrawals. Gema Hernandez, Florida's secretary of elder affairs, expects the trend to increase in mid-December.

Along the Texas border with Mexico, elderly people have been victimized by scam artists giving away free bookshelf safes shaped like Bibles. No sooner are the safes used than they get stolen from the victims' homes, officials say.
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Sometimes, as a person gets older and settled, the urge to splurge lessens, so seniors may have a little more money than plastic-slipping nest-builders.

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), November 06, 1999.


This article is a slam on elderly folks as much as it is a "Y2K report". People are people, and whether old or young, some are dumber than others. Most of the older folks I know are not dopey enough to flash large amounts of cash in front of strangers, or fall for a free Bible/Safe give away. My Grandmother (age 92) would call them morons. It's a shame that USA Today publishes this BS, instead of trying to alert MORE older people, who are probably the MOST vulnerable sector of our society in regards to Y2K. And NOT from muggers.....sheesh!

-- cavscout (onlythesm@rtwill.survive), November 06, 1999.

Grrrrrrrr! I agree that it's ageism. In the care of the frail elderly today, there is a concept called, "Acceptible risk." That means that older people can make their own choices because they find the risk acceptible--of their own free will.

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), November 06, 1999.

I like the part about "bankers are warning tellers to watch for elderly depositors who could be victims of exploitation."

So what do the tellers DO when they spot those elderly "depositors" (actually "withdrawers") who "have taken out TOO MUCH money"??? Do they radio those scam artists and muggers? "Hey Joe, loaded blue-hair headed west on 1st Ave. Beige handbag. Stay clear of the cane."

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), November 06, 1999.


If they really cared about scam artists that prey on confused older people, why don't they crack down on the junk mail proclaiming that you've won X amount of money (as soon as you send in twenty bucks, answer the questions correctly and are drawn first amoung a million entries.)

Jeeze. My disgust deepens.

-- Typhon Blue (typhonblue@hotmail.com), November 06, 1999.



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