In Defense of Y2K Extremists

by Burton S. Blumert

"I want to talk to the owner of Camino Coin," she said in her soft sunbelt drawl.

"This is Burt Blumert. How may I help?"

"Gary North made me buy gold coins from you people. He said that if I didn't I would be in big trouble due to Y2K. It happened under false pretenses."

On the defensive, I responded, "Well, I suppose many of us were caught-up with the Y2K scare, but you should feel relieved that our worst fears weren't realized."

"I want my money back," she said. "I never opened the box the gold came in."

The computer screen revealed her purchase in July 1999. "Mrs. Bartlett, you bought 61 one-ounce and 100 tenth-ounce gold eagles. You paid $277 each for the big ones and $31.50 each for the small ones. Today I can repurchase the one-ouncers for $286 and the tenth-ouncers for $29.50. If you sell today, you'll be ahead about $450."

That information didn't give her as much satisfaction as it did me and she asked, "What about the silly wind-up radio and flashlight?"

"Aren't those remarkable," I added hopefully. "And they are so well made, from South Africa, you know. I use the radio every morning. Sometimes it's the only exercise I get."

Without as much as a chuckle, she charged, "My pastor says that Gary North is a false prophet and should be punished."

"You know, Mrs. Bartlett, Gary North wasn't alone in alarming the public about Y2K. There were dozens of Congressional hearings about the horrors of Y2K and people like US Senators Bennett and Dodd caused me sleepless nights watching CSPAN tapes."

By this time I sensed Mrs. Bartlett was in her own zone, and she said, "My son ridiculed me for buying the gold. I actually bought it for him. He called this morning sarcastically asking if the electric power was on. I was so embarrased."

As one long identified with losing causes, I commiserated. "It wasn't only the right-wingers who issued emergency instructions about Y2K. The American Red Cross, FEMA, and most power companies urged hunkering down with dried food, candles, and bottled water."

I didn't seem to be making much progress and she in an accusatory voice said: "Well, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Imagine profiting on such a phony thing as Y2K."

In my best Jack Webb-John Wayne impersonation, I responded, "Ma'am, I'm just a humble old gold dealer who tries to treat the customer fairly whether their fears are real or imagined. We sell insurance, and as with most insurance policies, you're better off if there's no pay-out.

"Mrs. Bartlett, if you're looking for the real profiteers, seek out those computer programmers who created the problem and later reaped the harvest by solving the mischief they gave birth to."

The tide was turning and she stammered, "Well, Gary North and his ilk ought to apologize for what they've done."

I was now on the offensive. "Gary North and the other Y2K extremists were pikers. Most of their 'victims' were older folks intimidated by revolutionary technology they did not understand. That it contained the seeds of its own destruction seemed appropriate. Where are the critics of corporate America who spent billions on a non-problem? And what about our lovable government? Where is its apology for all the taxpayer dollars it wasted on an imaginary project?"

A computer friend tells me that the Y2K scare gave corporate America an opportunity to repair the minor problem caused by the two-digit date, but also enabled them to upgrade hardware and revitalize software, in short tooling-up for the revolution in progress. In a way, "the right-wing Y2K extremists" accomplished the same for middle America.

The Y2K scare motivated people to improve their emergency preparedness. If it abetted people's suspicion of basic institutions like banks, insurance companies, and government itself, what's wrong with that?

My customer decided not to sell her gold coins and I direct the following postscript to her and others like her:

Most of the Y2K extremists were genuine in their concerns. The establishment, as usual, has taken this opportunity to savagely attack them. But remember, the media have no affection nor sympathy for you. To them you are aliens who live in "flyover country." So don't be embarrassed. The elites, in the end, were far more gullible than you.

January 8, 2000

Burton S. Blumert is president of the Camino Coins and Ron Paul Coins in Burlingame, California.