Federal Computer Week has a new article on whether or not unemployment checks will stop in some states due to a one-year lookahead in unemployment insurance programs. A recent article had said these benefits were at risk in January 1999 in these states and territories: New Mexico, Louisiana, Arkansas, Montana, Maine, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Supposedly workarounds and contingency plans are now in place to take care of the problem. Here's a quote from the new article:

"The Clinton administration announced today that virtually all unemployed people will receive benefits checks next month and throughout 1999 despite earlier warnings that some computers operated by states and U.S. territories would fail in January [1999] because of the year 2000 bug."

"Feds say Y2K won't stop unemployment checks": http://www.fcw.com/pubs/fcw/1998/1221/web-y2k-12-22-98.html

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), December 23, 1998

Answers

Go fuck yourself and fuck the government. Go soddomise yourself up the anus because my dick sucks.

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), December 23, 1998.

For the new people. The above post probaly is not Kevin.

-- Jimmy Bagga Doughnuts (jim1bets@worldnet.att.net), December 23, 1998.

Here are two quotes from a different article, in USA Today, on the unemployment benefits story:

"Twelve states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands all have had to set up a temporary system of distributing checks until they are Year 2000 compliant."

"Unemployment insurance is unique among benefit programs because it begins running into Year 2000 problems on Jan. 4, 1999, says John Koskinen, chairman of the President's Council on Year 2000 conversion. That's because people making a claim on or after Jan. 4 will be entered in the computer system as having a benefit year that expires Jan. 3, 2000."

http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/cte039.htm

"Feds proud of Y2K victory"

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), December 23, 1998.

Thanks, Kevin.

Koskinen stressed that states will have to elevate Year 2000 strategies to the highest levels by involving governors and local leaders.

So John, wheres the visible stress? Guess the ever increasing ranks of the recent and former corporate unemployed will test the system in January.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), December 23, 1998.

Here's one more story, on this same subject, in the Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-12/23/0511-122398- idx.html

"13 States, District Face Y2K Problems -- Unemployment Checks May be Slowed"

I get the feeling the federal government is relieved this issue won't be the one that convinces the public that Y2K is real.

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), December 23, 1998.

This is either really good news, or...

The story below completely contradicts everything else I've read about possible Y2K problems with state unemployment insurance programs:

http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19990106S0018

"Although some states are still using computer code written 30 years ago, he said everyone was able to process claims using their year 2000 remediated systems. No one needed to resort to a contingency plan, he adds.

Sharkey credits the successful processing with an early start and regular follow-up. Year 2000 assessment began in 1996, followed by year 2000 project training of more than 250 state IT personnel, who were then formally reviewed on a quarterly basis and informally reviewed at other milestones in their projects."

The news is so great that it's almost to good to be true...

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), January 07, 1999.