Bank Runs Have Started

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Kindergarten teacher mentions to my wife in the schoolyard, out of the clear blue, that she knows some people who are actually storing food, and get this, taking cash out of the bank for y2k. This kind lady has absolutely no connection with the survivalists, or fringe elements, or TEOTWAWKI-ists (is that a word?), and yet she is disturbed enough by what she is noticing to contemplate making moves herself. Can you say "BANK RUNS"? The moral of the story? There is no time to waste. Mrs. Middle America is about to "GET IT"!

-- Mark (gal220@face2face.com), December 03, 1998

Answers

s***.

-- Leo (leo_champion@hotmail.com), December 03, 1998.

And now Ms. Middle America is talking about it with co-workers and friends and acquaintances, out of the blue, it will spread faster than wild fires. Because Ms. Middle America is not a fringe member of society who dresses funny, she drives a mini-van, so she's respectable and believable.

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), December 03, 1998.

It is Mrs. Middle America that will Get It. She is like the bear that protects her cubs and she will protect her family. How many Mrs. Americas are there in this forum and how many will do what it takes to care for her family? I Am One.

-- Linda A. (adahi@muhlon.com), December 03, 1998.

http://www.wired.com/news/news/business/story/16618.html

Bankers: Prepared for a Panic?
by Declan McCullagh

4:50 p.m. 3.Dec.98.PST
Fear of electric-power outages and bank failures could lead to widespread panic as disruptive as the Y2K glitch itself, Senator Robert Bennett warned Thursday at the first summit organized by President Clinton's Y2K council.

"Even if the Y2K problem is solved, the panic side of it can end up hurting us as badly," said Bennett, the Utah Republican who heads the Senate's Year 2000 committee.

Bennett's luncheon address to an audience of more than 100 banking industry bureaucrats and lobbyists echoed what other government officials have said publicly and privately: Increased jitters about computer failures in financial institutions could spark bank runs in 1999.

The US Federal Reserve is printing an extra US$50 billion worth of bank notes as a precautionary measure. The central banks of Australia and New Zealand have taken similar steps.

Bennett, who also serves on the Senate Banking Committee, said that without such actions if even a fraction of Americans took $500 out of their credit unions, the result would be "a shortfall of credit unions overall of $16 billion."

Another cause of Y2K fears is the possibility of electric power plants shutting down when computer clocks touch 1 January 2000.

A representative of the North American Electric Reliability Council, or NERC, did his best to assuage the concerns of the audience.

Their worry: Even if Wall Street's computers are Y2K OK, what happens if the electricity dies and the phones fail? Stephen Malphrus, a Federal Reserve Board official, said he lost sleep at night over "these incredible interdependencies in the infrastructure."

"We don't feel there are any types of failures that will jeopardize our ability to provide electricity to our customers," said Gerry Cauley, Y2K project manager for NERC. "A properly tested and repaired unit at the component level does not have a problem that would prevent it from operating."

But not everyone is participating in the industry-wide Y2K project NERC began earlier this year. About 500 power distribution companies -- one-sixth the total -- have not joined. "We also face a huge coordination problem in the distribution area," Cauley said. And of those that signed on, 35 percent still have no written Y2K project plan.

The good news: Among the companies that are participating, 45 percent of systems had been fixed and tested as of 11 November.

Bankers: Prepared for a Panic? Page 2
4:50 p.m. 3.Dec.98.PST

continued
In North America, power generation and distribution is handled through three electrical interconnections, or grids, that include the United States, Canada, and a tiny portion of Mexico. The grids are split up into 10 regions and run by 136 control centers.

"Things may happen. But the expectation is that we'll be prepared for these types of things," Cauley said.

So will the federal government, predicted John Koskinen, the chair of the president's Y2K council. "People are generally concerned about the infrastructure: Will the lights stay on, will you get a dial tone? Thus far, judging by the first assessments being done on the power area, companies have been candid."

Koskinen said the government would be moving from contingency planning to a crisis-management phase.

Responding to a question about electrical-power failures, Koskinen said, "In a crisis and emergency situation, the free market may not be the best way to distribute resources.... If there's a point in time where we have to take resources and make a judgement on an emergency basis, we will be prepared to do that."

Other trends could make the outlook more dismal. Companies like General Motors -- whose chief information officer has called Y2K "catastrophic" -- are likely to stockpile supplies and "set us up for a classic inventory recession," Bennett predicted.

The "urge to stockpile just to be safe is going to hit everyone, " he said, citing the fact that people keep asking him what his own Y2K plans are. "If I dig up my backyard and put in a propane tank, that won't look very good. I have a nephew who is doing that, by the way." But Bennett said he was sweating the most over other countries, which generally are not as Y2K-savvy as the United States. According to Strategic Information Ltd., Russia, China, and much of Africa and South America need major emergency support to survive.

"What's going to happen when whole countries drop off the radar screen with no infrastructure remaining?" Bennett said, noting that global calamity has economic and military implications for the United States. The White House plans to hold two more Y2K summits in spring and summer 1999.

Copyright ) 1994-98 Wired Dig

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), December 03, 1998.


sheeple, sheeple....how many times do we have to tell you! The runs don't start until April. Now, I, er, gotta go to the, ah, bank...

-- a (a@a.a), December 03, 1998.


As GN stated when Dr. James Dobson did a 3 day y2k series(addressing people in the church)(don't quote me exactly)"..it's the ewes that lead, they hold the purse strings too, so when they get it..." - well, you can figure the rest.

-- madeline (runner@bcpl.net), December 03, 1998.

Hmmmmm, Mrs. Middle America aka "Soccer Mom" is about to "get it?" She's too late. The bank runs have started? The stock market keeps falling, and Clinton is getting closer to saving his butt. Well, it's taken me many months to do what I have to do, it's no easy task. It's nerve racking, costly, angering, joyful, cat and mouse game, I've got it together, oh no! another obstacle in my path, do I have enough stored, what if, what if, and what if......yeh, wait until they really get it, it will be tooooooooooo late! JMHO

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), December 03, 1998.

Bardou

"yeh, wait until they really get it, it will be tooooooooooo late! JMHO"

You got it, 100%. I went to Wal-Mart tonight out of GUILT!

The little voice says "Less time than you think" (OH SH!T)

-- Uncle Deedah (oncebitten@twiceshy.com), December 03, 1998.


Uncle Deedah...They have WalMart canned "SPAM" (Sam's Choice), for $1.00 per can, feed's six. Just bought myself 15 cans of the stuff. I don't know how it tastes, but heh, what the hell, I bet it works well with beans or split peas. I wonder what the "Mrs Middle America and Soccer Mom's" will feed their kids and husbands. I can hear it now "WAH, WAH, I WANT MCDONALD'S, WHY CAN'T WE GO TO MCDONALD'S." Hmmmmmm how will they ever get it?

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), December 04, 1998.

You just have to tell them that Clinton has scheduled the bank runs for Dec 1999.

They can't run on the bank until then. End of problem, right?

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), December 04, 1998.



One kindergarten teacher knows 'some people' taking cash out does not a bank run make. This is all a joke, right? The asylum isn't serious about this, right? After all, everybody knows that in a real bank run we would see Jimmy Stewart handing it out. Duh! LOL.

.

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), December 04, 1998.


Man, I'm scared. I want everybody to GI, but I wished I'd moved faster. I've still got about 300.00 to go------- I feel like crying with joy that America may survive, and also sobbing with terror that I've moved too slow.

-- lisa (panicking@myself.com), December 04, 1998.

Nothing spreads faster than a rumor in a school yard. Trust me, I worked in the school system.

-- Grab your cash now. (ex-aide@doyoucare.com), December 04, 1998.

Moms tend to "get it," and often they see bigger pictures. Back to mobilizing Oprah.

That article quote ... Koskinen said, "In a crisis and emergency situation, the free market may not be the best way to distribute resources.... If there's a point in time where we have to take resources and make a judgement on an emergency basis, we will be prepared to do that..." just thrills me. *Sigh*

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), December 04, 1998.


Rob Michaels:

The stories, like the teacher, are all anecdotal. All from personal experience. We can't all be everywhere at once and know everything. Personally I put a lot of stock in these kinds of stories.

-- zzzz (why@whynot.com), December 04, 1998.



zzzz - I was being facetious.

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), December 04, 1998.

I'm a "soccer mom", I guess. Go to the schoolyard and all that. Whoever said the mom protects the brood has nailed my reasons. I simply cannot watch my family suffer when they don't have to. And they don't have to if I prepare. It's my job, I'm the mom.

BTW, I know it's the wrong thread, but, my company is a supplier to a big player. Wholly-owned subsidiary. We have been told that by the end of 1999, we WILL

-- margie mason (mar3mike@aol.com), December 04, 1998.


I'm a "soccer mom", I guess. Go to the schoolyard and all that. Whoever said the mom protects the brood has nailed my reasons. I simply cannot watch my family suffer when they don't have to. And they don't have to if I prepare. It's my job, I'm the mom.

BTW, I know it's the wrong thread, but, my company is a supplier to a big player. Wholly-owned subsidiary. We have been told that by the end of 1999, we WILL (Sorry, hit the wrong key) have triple our current inventory on hand. Yeah, it's started.

-- margie mason (mar3mike@aol.com), December 04, 1998.


madeline -

I don't remember GN on Dr. Dobson's program; I thought it was Chuck Missler who made the comment about "the ewes." My family has always used the term "Mama Bear" when describing the risks of threatening children when Mom's nearby. My wife's 5'1 and about 105lbs and I have the strong sense that she could easily take out someone twice her size if they truly threatened one of our kids. My job is to ensure that that situation never arises through prudent planning.

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.com), December 04, 1998.


Mac;

Is that as in "Don't get between Mama Bear and her cubs"?

That's how is here in my nest too.

Even this "steely eyed killer" won't take that one on.

S.O.B.

-- sweetolebob (buffgun@hotmail.com), December 04, 1998.


my personal bank run already transpired. Not much to take out anyhow. Used it to buy 'stuff'. Bardou, SPAM is good if you pan fry it, very salty, but not bad, the kids will love it. I gotta a good question though, how am I gonna eat the spam without the bread?

-- consumer (private@aol.com), December 04, 1998.

Eat Spam without bread? Easy: fry is, dice it, put it in spaghetti sauce. Anything tastes good in spaghetti sauce. Well, almost anything. OK, so maybe more than almost. I forgot about zuchinni.

-- JDC (yankeejdc@aol.com), December 05, 1998.

Hey, zucchini isn't bad in marinara sauce,...and succhini is terrific in bread! :-)

-- Donna Barthuley (moment@pacbell.net), December 05, 1998.

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