HOME  E-DEMOCRACY 98  E-DEBATE WEB MN-FORUM

Ken Pentel      Response 1

Question 1: What must the governor do, if anything, to head off or prepare for a possible computer systems distruption as a result of the Year 2000 compter bug?

The role of government in this situation would be to pass 
legislation before the next legislative session is over which 
would allow the State Government to step in and repair the 
problem wherever there is an environmental threat, a public 
heath threat or a threat to our basic human dignity.  
Necessary institutions such as hospitals need to be protected, 
public institutions such as schools, police departments and fire 
departments need to be protected and dangerous situations 
such as nuclear reactors and various facilities dealing with 
potential chemical/toxic waste products need to be secured.

It is not the role of government to bail out every for profit
corporation in Minnesota which could be affected by this 
problem.  If a business does not find a solution I'm sure their 
competition will.