Wednesday November 17 10:58 AM ET U.S. Spending $100B on Y2K Repairs By TED BRIDIS Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - America will have spent more than $100 billion preparing for the Year 2000 technology problem, or about $365 for every citizen, but any computer glitches ``should not hurt our economic growth,'' Commerce Secretary William Daley said today.

``Is this a lot of money? Absolutely!'' Daley said. ``But the potential cost of not doing anything was far greater.

``The greatest cost to our economy is behind us.''

The $100 billion estimate is for 1995-2001.

Daley's generally optimistic remarks mirror statements made during past months by top U.S. financial leaders, including Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who has warned that stockpiling and inventory hedging against possible failures could cause worse trouble than the Y2K glitch itself.

President Clinton's top Y2K expert, John Koskinen, cautioned that ``several hundred thousand'' smaller companies nationwide haven't performed any repairs and plan to fix any failures after they occur.

But Koskinen said business owners will find long waits for new equipment in the earliest weeks of 2000, and a new liability law allows computer companies up to 90 days to fix a problem before any lawsuits could be filed.

``Some of them may lose their customers and go out of business,'' Koskinen said today. ``We are getting close to it being too late to start.''

In a new report today on the effects of Y2K on the nation's economy, the Commerce Department also said failures overseas - generally predicted to be more likely and more severe than problems in the United States - won't have a major impact.

``There is no evidence that Y2K disruptions abroad will affect U.S. imports sufficiently to damage our economy,'' the report said.

The government reported in September it had spent $8.34 billion on repairs, and Greenspan earlier estimated that Fortune 500 companies have spent an estimated $50 billion.

``We do not expect Y2K problems at home or abroad to throw our economic growth off course,'' agreed Robert J. Shapiro, the commerce undersecretary for economic affairs, whose agency prepared the new report. ``The American economy will continue to thrive.''

But Shapiro said Y2K preparations - such as companies adjusting inventories to hedge against possible supply problems - could affect the ``pattern and timing'' of economic growth.

Rising expenditures could add to that growth during the last three months of 1999, but that growth likely would slow during the first quarter of 2000 to compensate.

Shapiro also said consumers who stockpile food, water or other supplies could drive up prices in the last weeks of this year, and investors could withdraw funds from business areas where they lack confidence.

``We don't see any evidence of this,'' Shapiro said. ``We're still six weeks away, and most surveys show the American public becoming more confident, not less confident.''

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-- it will be an event (it@willbe.yes), November 17, 1999

Answers

Of course alot of moeny was spent. That just goes to show you Dooming idiots that there is more awareness on this problem than you think.

Now go back to watching the skies for aliens.

-- (not@much.of an event), November 17, 1999.

> ``We don't see any evidence of this,'' Shapiro said. ``We're still six weeks away, and most surveys show the American public becoming more confident, not less confident.''

That must be why Americans just voted Bill Clinton as evil as Adolf Hitler the people being so "confident" and all.

-- Paula (chowbabe@pacbell.net), November 17, 1999.

"Some of them [SMEs] may lose their customers and go out of business. . . . We are getting close to it being too late to start." -- John Koskinen, late 1999

Really? So, uh, when WILL Da Fedz consider it as being "too late to start?"

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), November 17, 1999.

If there had been no " doomer idiots", we would be in horendous shape right now. Like the econemy, the administration can snap on to someone else's hard work and call it theirs....Gary North,oh he's just one of those relieos fools who should be jailed for insanity.

-- (freeman@interx.net), November 17, 1999.

No economic effect of overseas failures? Am I living in a dream world??? How in the world can they say this?

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), November 17, 1999.

Yes Mara, what will happen when all that pirated software overseas starts going bonkers? Nobody ever seems to answer this.

-- Larry (cobol.programmer@usa.net), November 17, 1999.

Yes Mara, what will happen when all that pirated software overseas starts going bonkers? Nobody ever seems to answer this.

-- Larry (cobol.programmer@usa.net), November 17, 1999.

The answer to that is simple, they will get what they paid for.

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), November 17, 1999.

And then what will happen, Cherri? Don't leave us hanging. (Please think this through.)

44 days.

Y2K CANNOT BE FIXED!

-- Jack (jsprat@eld.~net), November 17, 1999.