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The Street After 2000 by Michael Parkes : selassie@hotmail.com Wall Street survived the change date from December 31, 1999 to January 1, 2000 without the expected doom and gloom that was foretold and given exhaustive media coverage. The fact that companies realized the impact of the date change and possible outcomes from as early as 1990 was for the most part ignored. Also not mentioned was the extensive resources almost all of the fortune 500 companies had allocated to addressing the situation. The point; the Y2K phenomenon was not a phenomenon at all but a huge endeavor to stress the importance of PC in our everyday lives and to the working world, not to mention to inflate the importance and wallets of technicians and PC consultants worldwide. Of course these individuals in the PC technologies field are significantly more important than many believe. However at the end of the day data will be processed, the work will get done, albeit less efficiently. Computers have increased efficiency immensely, and so America is experiencing the greatest economic expansion since the 1970's. What's next most analyst and economists are waiting for the end of the expansion (depression). It has to come, the economy after all like everything else is cyclical. My theory is that the continued expansion is a direct result of the perceived 'success' of the American economy following the Y2K date change. But what has really changed. Sure the use of computers are vastly more important in our society, they increase the speed of business as well as productivity, they allow for instant communications, they even allow for the production of superior products than previous believed. Are we a more enlightened species for the advances made possible by the silicon chip? Do we treat our fellow man (woman) with greater respect and dignity? Have we solved the age old problems of homelessness, poverty, racism sexism, etc. How have we dealty with new social issues such as school yard shootings by kids, abortions, segregated communities, racial profiling (this action of the police finally has a name), the mis-education of so many children. How progressive has our society become. As a Black professional on Wall Street I am still grossly under-represented. I am still viewed as not worthy to earn the same as my white counter-part. We are still not a part of the establishment, or even the network of decision-makers. Sure there are more of us, and more of us have acquired wealth, but we are still marginal and lack the positions and influence to effect meaningful, lasting, change. Technology should enhance our humanity and improve our thinking skills, not just improve our money making capabilities.
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