My apologies if this is already posted...

Poll: Three in 10 Americans will stock up in anticipation of Y2K problems 2.55 p.m. ET (1856 GMT) July 23, 1999

By Will Lester, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP)  Almost one-third of Americans, anticipating problems from the Y2K computer bug, plan to stock up on food, water and other supplies, and one-quarter of the population will take extra money out of the bank, an Associated Press poll found.

Most Americans  66 percent  expect only minor problems when computer programs try to deal with the new millennium, but many are joining Julie Alexander in playing it safe.

"I thought I might keep my shelves better stocked,'' said the woman from Strafford, Mo., among the 31 percent planning to set aside provisions. "We probably will have extra cash on hand.''

Don Haynes, an Elmira, N.Y., construction worker, plans to be even more cautious with his money.

"I'm going to leave the minimum in the bank to keep the account open,'' Haynes said. "When I get my first statement in January of 2000, I will say, 'OK, I guess I'm going to trust you guys' and put it back in.''

The poll of 1,008 adults, conducted for the AP by ICR of Media, Pa., found that women (38 percent) were much more likely than men (23 percent) to stock up on supplies. In addition, 42 percent of blacks planned to take precautions, compared with 29 percent of all others.

The federal government has been working to fix potential Y2K problems in its computers and advising state and local governments and private businesses to do the same.

Without fixes, many computers  originally programmed to recognize only the last two digits of a year  will not work properly beginning Jan. 1, 2000, when those machines will assume it is 1900.

Overall, 66 percent said they expected the Y2K bug would cause only minor problems in the United States and 18 percent thought there would be no problems at all, while 11 percent expected major problems. People 65 years old and older were twice as likely as those under 35 to expect no problems from the computer glitch, with about one-fifth of the older Americans saying there would be no problem.

While a majority didn't expect the problems to be serious, there was widespread belief they would be pesky. Thirty percent said they expected Y2K problems would last for a week or two at the start of the year, while another 32 percent said the problems would persist longer.

Fears about the banking system may not be warranted because that is one business that has worked hard to prepare, said a government expert on the Y2K bug.

"If we're confident about any industry, we're confident about the banking industry,'' said John Koskinen, chairman of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion.

Still, the poll found three out of 10 respondents said banks would be most at risk because of the Y2K bug. Nearly as many said they believed the power supply would be the most at risk.

'' I expect in the year 2000 ... computers are going to be a little haywire,'' said 46-year-old Rosalinda Tostado, a Chicago health clinic administrator. "We work with a lot of computers and we always have problems.''

At her clinic, the staff is preparing to dispense medicine and keep records by hand rather than relying on computers at the start of the year, if necessary.

But for 68-year-old housewife Sarah O'Farrell of Montgomery, Ala., the publicity about Y2K seems exaggerated.

"Everybody is preparing for it,'' she said. "But I don't think it will have too much effect.''

Mrs. O'Farrell says she doesn't use computers and "doesn't intend to because I have a brain,'' though her daughter has a degree in computer science and her grandchildren use them.

The experts say it's prudent to be prepared for some problems, even if they aren't major.

"We don't think there will be significant failures in the national infrastructure,'' Koskinen said. "The power grids look like they will hold, telecommunications nationally will function ... and the Federal Aviation Administration is announcing that they're done.''

But he said it's harder to tell what will happen locally.

The telephone poll was taken July 16-21 and has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

comments@newsdigital.com ) 1999, News America Digital Publishing, Inc. d/b/a Fox News Online. All rights reserved. Fox News is a registered trademark of 20th Century Fox Film Corp.

) 1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

-- Meg Moss (meg@giglobal.com), July 23, 1999

Answers

This just up on AP Breaking News (boring, really -- just keep prepping prudently.)

7/23/99 -- 2:58 PM

Y2K Poll

Poll on Y2K issues is based on telephone interviews with 1,008 randomly selected adults from all states except Alaska and Hawaii.

The interviews were conducted July 16-21 by ICR of Media, Pa.

The results were weighted to represent the population by key demographic factors, such as age, sex, region and education.

No more than one time in 20 should chance variations in the sample cause the results to vary by more than 3 percentage points from the answers that would be obtained if all Americans were polled.

This margin of sampling error is larger for responses of subgroups, such as income categories. There are other sources of potential error in polls, including the wording and order of questions.

The AP poll questions (because of rounding, sums may not total 100 percent):

1. In general, do you expect the Y2K bug to cause ...

-Major problems in the United States, 11 percent.
-Minor problems in the United States, 66 percent.
-No problems in the United States, 18 percent.
-Don't know, 5 percent.

2. How long do you think Y2K-related computer problems will last?

-One day or less, 5 percent.
-A few days, 17 percent.
-A week or two, 30 percent.
-More than two weeks, 32 percent.
-No computer problems will occur, 11 percent.
-Don't know, 5 percent.

3. Some people plan to take extra money out of the bank at the end of the year in case computer problems affect banks and cash machines.
Others say such precautions are not necessary. Do you plan to take extra money out of the bank because of the Y2K bug or not?

-Yes, 25 percent.
-No, 69 percent.
-Don't know, 5 percent.
-Refused to answer, 1 percent.

4. Some people also plan to stock up on such items as food, water, gasoline and batteries because of possible Y2K problems. Do you plan to stock up or not?

-Yes, 31 percent.
-No, 67 percent.
-Don't know, 2 percent.

5. In your opinion, what is most at risk because of the Y2K bug?

-Banking, financial services, 31 percent.
-Transportation system, 12 percent.
-Power supply, 26 percent.
-Phone system, 6 percent.
-Food distribution, 11 percent.
-Don't know, 13 percent.
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-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), July 23, 1999.

"Others say such precautions are not necessary."

Wow. Has there EVER been a time in your entire life when precautions were not necessary?

You can be fined for not wearing your seat belt. You can be fined for not having auto insurance. Your kid has to be vaccinated to attend school. Some states even require motorcyclists to wear a helmet.

Since when do the authorities tell us that precautions are NOT necessary? Whose interests are they protecting? What the f*** is going on here?

That line alone would make me want to prepare, if I weren't already doing it.

-- hang (the@lying.bastards), July 23, 1999.

A new survey finds that 46% of all Americans are worried that the Y2K computer glitch may interrupt the non-stop TV coverage of "An American Tragedy -- The Death of Our Nation's Son."

Twenty-seven-percent responded that if coverage of the JFK Jr. national crisis is interrupted, even for a moment, they will throw themselves off the roof of a tall building.

-- ace (x@y.z), July 23, 1999.

...while 39% refused to answer the questions, saying they needed to check with Dan Rather first to determine what their opinion might be.

-- ace (x@y.z), July 23, 1999.

Let's poll the computers and see what they think.

-- Nathan (nospam@all.com), July 23, 1999.

'Others say such precautions are not necessary'

That was the last words I heard befor I got pregnant!

-- have7sons (3daughters@welfare.line), July 23, 1999.