I am on a newsgroup (Alabama Y2K@onelist.com). There this fella Rick who this week posted that Ed Yourdon, Ed Yardini and Oeter de Jager all advise people to leave their money n the bank!! I have never read this in anything Ed Yourdon has written. I have read one of his books and most of his essays. Needless to say, this guy is an optimist and espousing his own viewpoint. I have never seen anyting Ed Yardini has written suggest such a thing and Peter de Jager I read only sporatically. Can someone of you very knowlegable of all Ed Yourdon's writings verify what I am saying, the Mr. Yourdon does not advise people to leave their money in the bank but rather to make this decision themselves using the knowledge at hand and that knowledge doesn't look good. No wonder he has resigned from this debate! The optimists do not hesitate to give the facts a twist to foster theirown views and resort to bald-faced lies. Just can't stand to see Mr. Y used inthis effort. Any repky appreciated. Amelia Edgeman

-- Amelia Kay Edgeman (akeyorkie@webtv.net), May 31, 1999

Answers

A dedicated arsonist can light more fires faster than a fireman can put them out.

Don't fall into that trap.

Tell Rick you think he is wrong based on your reading of TIMEBOMB 2000. Ask HIM to prove that HIS statement is correct. Put the burden of proof on him, ask him for a URL or a readily available quote, not some "my cousin's barber had a friend that attended a meeting and heard that...."

-- Ken Seger (kenseger@EARTHLINK.NET), May 31, 1999.

Amelia, in re-reading the part of Ed Yourdon's latest book The Complete Y2K Home Preparation Guide that covers this, Chapter 9: Money, Finances and Important Papers, he does not definitively try to say that anyone should or should not withdraw lots of cash. He points out the risk of keeping it in the bank (miniscule amount of cash susceptible to bank runs; Y2K shutdown), points out the risks of keeping it at home, then concludes with the following:

If you do wish to keep money or other valuables at home,
make sure you take precautions to secure any cash against
theft and fire.  You can put your money in a safe deposit
box (and hope it is accessible after Jan. 1, 2000).  If
you keep it at home, buy a good fire-resistant box or
safe and hide it wherever you think is best (if you were
smart enough to earn it, you're smart enough to hide it).

-- Jack (jsprat@eld.net), May 31, 1999.

The quote from Ed Yourdon's book that was posted by Jack, is exactly what Rick posted. You took his post wrong and read it incorrectly. None of these guys have truly advocated leaving money in the bank or taking it out. The only one that advocates taking money out is Gary North and he really would like to see the system fail.

-- Jaz (jaz1950@aol.com), May 31, 1999.