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Technology Stocks : Discuss Year 2000 Issues -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Skeptic who wrote (552)	11/26/1997 2:52:00 PM
From: BigJake	Respond to of 9818

There might be a fairly straightforward explanation for what I agree is, clearly, a shocking lack of engagement with what we know is a very serious problem. It is the business budget cycle. Most businesses budget from calendar year to calendar year. At this time, in 1996, the Y2K problem was less apparent to business leaders and not a major budget item (as compared to other budget needs that businesses wanted to accomplish to remain competitive in their market place). I suspect it was a very tough sell for a CIO to get very much in the 1997 budget for Year 2000 during November 1996. In 1997, one year later, budgets for 1998 are just being defended and finalized all across the country. I predict, with all the press Year 2000 has received in 1997, with the new congressional and regulatory oversight requirements that have emerged, etc., that this is now a priority budget item. Even the federal government, which budgets from October to September, did not finalize 1998 budgets until recently - thus their uniform lack of activity. Couple this with the typically slow holiday period that starts today and runs until the New Year, and not much is going to happen for awhile. I think come January 1998, however, there will be a major move to secure Year 2000 services across the public and private sector. What has been missing up to this point are the budgets to pay for the work. Hang on to your Year 2000 stocks. If you understand elementary microeconomic theory, when demand exceeds supply, prices go up. A rising sea will lift all boats in this storm that is about to erupt.