Allison is confident Blue Cross has the problem well in hand. And she thinks most of her city does, too. But she still is planning to sock away enough food, water, cash and firewood to last a couple of weeks in case everything does go haywire on Jan. 1, 2000. There's the rub of the year 2000 bug, a glitch that could cause some computers, machinery, medical equipment, utilities and VCRs to quit working, or spit out bad information, when the 1900s become the 2000s.
Nobody really knows what's going to happen.
Edward Yardeni, one of the nation's leading economists, forecasts a 70 percent chance of global recession because of the bug. He even contends the resulting fallout might be fun - if we keep a sense of humor about it. But everyone acknowledges something is coming down the tracks, said Leon Kappelman, a university professor and author who is spending much of his time these days talking about the year 2000 problem. And it's difficult to get definitive evidence. Until now, there hasn't been much information to rely on.