Why doesn't this surprise me anymore? I think someone says it best when they state *JUNE 1999*

http://www.currents.net/newstoday/99/06/17/news1.html

By David McGuire, Newsbytes

More than 1 million, or roughly 20 percent, of the nation's small business owners plan to take "no action at all" to address potential Y2K problems, according to a report. The figure alarms Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem.

"It's fairly bad news as far as we're concerned," Committee staffer Don Meyer told Newsbytes. "There are very few business entities that will have no exposure to Y2K (problems)," he said. "You are going to see widespread problems among those people who are not prepared."

Those problems will not be inconsequential, according to Bennett. Unprepared business not only put themselves and their employees at risk, but may also wreak havoc on business partners and suppliers as well as the communities that depend upon them for goods and services, Bennett said in a release.

The cause of Bennett's consternation is a report sponsored by Wells Fargo and the National Federation of Independent Business that shows only about 2.8 million, or 60 percent of the nation's small businesses have engaged in some form of Y2K preparation. While the report shows that number increasing, it still estimates that a sizable percentage of small businesses will be unprepared for Y2K.

The bad news comes despite the recent passage of Sen. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond's, R-Mo., Small Business Year 2000 Readiness Act.

The act authorizes the US Small Business Administration (SBA) to expand its loan program to help businesses that expect to be struck by glitches from the date change on or around Jan. 1, 2000. The act also allows eligible small businesses to defer on principal payments and gives them longer maturity terms and expanded options for refinancing existing SBA loans, among other things.

Community effort is needed to ameliorate the problem, Meyer said. "There is only so much we can do in Washington that will reach into every community and raise awareness at every single small business."

-- y2k dave (xsdaa111@hotmail.com), June 17, 1999

Answers

Gee, this is almost good news. I think it was a mere few months ago (beginnign of the year) that at least 40% of small businesses were planning on doing NADA. Maybe by the end of the year we'll have 100% of small businesses going, "Oh Sh*T!"

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), June 17, 1999.

No worries. Most states (all states?) have some sort of unemployment compensation fund. If you're laid off just get in line. Assuming that office is still up and running. But your mortgage, auto, and credit card payments might be a problem if the layoffs last very long.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), June 17, 1999.