the y2k question with regards to the government has a key question: suppose computers start cranking out nonsense. how fast can each problem be fixed? the IRS has armies of people *right*now* that do nothing but fix problems created by the computers. how far would this force go toward fixing all y2k problems? not far, I imagine. but one thing that Gary North is not emphasizing a lot is that the big question is how fast new forces can be mobilized when the government finds itself in a crisis. it is true at the current rate it looks dismal for the govt to fix the problems in time, but govt has huge amounts of monetary resources to throw at problems when it wants to. does anyone have any idea how much cash sloshes around in defense industries? sure, the computers may go haywire for a few days, or a few weeks, but this may not have a noticeable impact on govt as usual. the govt has an army of clerks that can be mobilized to do by hand much of what is required. it is a small force, but what I am pointing out is that this is not a black-or-white success-failure proposition. the government is notoriously ingenious at "limping along" on limited resources!! === this is my call out to PROGRAMMERS not to work on projects that you don't consider ideologically valid. let's start a movement in which "intellectual capital" refuses to be routed toward supporting oppressive, self-perpetuating, dying welfare-state institutions. imagine a worldwide programmer union or movement in which programmers refuse to work on y2k problems in the government and refuse to work on other projects they do not support, no matter what the money. they say that every man has his price. integrity has no price!! imagine, would you turn down any amount of money to work on the corrupt state mechanisms? this is exactly what is required to bring them down. as long as they can continue to bribe the populace with its own money, they will continue.