Without computers, none of our most dynamic companies would exist today. Microsoft, SAP, Dell, and Toshiba would not exist, nor would the jobs they've created. FedEx, Wal-Mart, and Deutsche Bank would exist today without computers, but they would all be much smaller. And, of course, governments could not play such large roles in our economies without IT systems. Our global and domestic markets for financial securities, commodities, products, and services depend completely on the smooth functioning of the vast IT infrastructure.
Information is the life blood of our domestic and global markets.
If the information flow is severely disrupted by Y2K, then markets will allocate and utilize resources inefficiently. Market participants will be forced to spend more time and money obtaining the information that was instantly available at almost no cost before the market was disrupted. This process is the very foundation of economic prosperity and progress based on the exchange of goods and services produced as a result of our comparative advantage. We all either thrive, or have the potential to do so, by producing the goods and services that we are especially endowed, qualified, or trained to produce. We exchange the fruits of our labor for the goods and services that are better made by others.