Article in SacBee

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A very interesting article in today's Sacramento Bee. http://www.capitolalert.com/news/capalert01_19991214.html. Are more folks getting it? 47% percent of families are planning on taking out extra cash.

-- Michael (mhgentry@prodigy.net), December 14, 1999

Answers

Thanks.

Diane

http://www.capitolalert.com/news/capalert01_19991214.html

[Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only]

Many shrug at Y2K but get ready: Cash, food squirreled away 'just to be safe'

By Dennis Love
Bee Capitol Bureau
(Published Dec. 14, 1999)

Like most people, Janelle Emerson has heard the talk about the so- called Y2K problem, ranging from those who warn of civilization's impending return to the barter system to those who just shrug it all off.

"I'm really not that concerned about it," Emerson, 47, of Roseville, said Monday as she made a cash withdrawal from a Bank of America automated teller machine near the Capitol. "I don't think the world's coming to an end by any means. But just to be safe, I'm going to take a few precautions."

"Just to be safe" seems to be a common mantra as the year 2000 approaches. And a new Field Poll indicates that Emerson is not alone in her plans to hoard some cash -- and perhaps some food and water, too -- as insurance against computer failures as the new year begins.

While the poll released today found that only about one-fifth of Californians surveyed are "very worried" or "somewhat worried" about Y2K-associated glitches affecting themselves or their families, more than twice that number say they plan to stock extra food and supplies by New Year's Eve.

That seeming contradiction echoes back to the gas shortages of the 1970s, said Mervin Field, president of the San Francisco-based polling firm. Then, people professed not to be worried about limited supplies of gas but nonetheless joined the long lines at service stations.

"It's a phenomenon where the public will discount the problem, but they're always worried about the other guy," Field said. "So even while they don't seem concerned about computer breakdowns, many say they will be playing it safe because the worries and actions of others might cause problems."

Y2K is shorthand for year 2000 -- and for the fears that many computer systems may malfunction when the new year dawns. Most computer systems originally used just two digits to signify each year, raising concerns that "00" may be confused with 1900. Most government institutions and many businesses have taken corrective steps to defuse the threat.

Another poll released Monday by the Public Policy Institute of California produced similar findings about Y2K concerns. While only 8 percent of those surveyed said Y2K will cause "major problems," four in 10 said they planned to stockpile food and water, and one in three will withdraw cash.

Daniel Peters, 50, an accountant eating a late lunch along the K Street pedestrian mall, said those surveys accurately reflect his Y2K concerns, along with those of many of his relatives and friends.

"I think everything is in pretty good shape," he said. "I don't expect any massive breakdowns. But I do worry that if some minor problems occur, some of these nuts out there might hit the panic button and start a run on the banks or the supermarkets. So I'll probably stash away a little cash and maybe some water."

The Field Poll found that about one in four California adults (27 percent) believes that the potential for Y2K problems is either "very" or "somewhat" serious, and 24 percent are either very or somewhat worried about the difficulties the problems may cause the country.

About 25 percent of respondents said they were less likely to travel far from home around Jan. 1 due to potential Y2K foul-ups.

The greatest concern among poll respondents involved the potential for problems outside the United States. Nearly six in 10 (57 percent) say they are either very or somewhat worried about Y2K trouble in foreign countries.

Younger people and women are more concerned than older people and men about the Y2K situation and will be more likely to have extra cash and food on hand, the poll found.

Field Poll results were based on a telephone survey conducted between Dec. 3 and Sunday among a representative sample of 876 California adults. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. The Public Policy Institute poll was conducted between Nov. 29 and Dec. 8 among 2,009 California adults.



-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), December 14, 1999.


Diane: Now don't take this personally, Diane, because I know it applies to the rest oc the country. Remember the poll someone took the other day asking people in California(I think?) what the term Y2K meant? After listening to the goofy responses I have some doubt about any poll info anymore. However, I do consider this good news even at this late date. Happy latte!

-- Neil G.Lewis (pnglewis1@yahoo.com), December 14, 1999.

What they say they will do and what they actually do are two entirely different things. They intend to exercise, to give more to charity, to spend more time with their children...

They will wait until the last minute, by then it will be TOO LATE! The last week of December do not plan on being anywhere near a grocery store.

During interviews and polls many people give the socially correct response.

-- Squid (ItsDark@down.here), December 15, 1999.


Last time there was a scare of food shortages around here (about 1978), my friend asked another guy he knew why he was filling his car up with so much food. The answer: "I'm getting all this stuff before the HOARDERS do" !

ALK

-- Al K. Lloyd (all@ready.now), December 15, 1999.


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