[PEN-L:3873] a solution to a major problem

[JDevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

     After I read an essay by Stephen J. Gould, I had the following idea
     for a solution that has plagued Western Civilization for at least a
     millenium so far, spawning all sorts of social disorders from civil
     wars, to racism, to imperialist aggression. ;-)

     The problem is, of course, deciding when the century -- and this case,
     the millenium -- ends. Is it at midnight, Dec. 31, 1999, as aesthetics
     and the artist formerly known as "Prince" would have it?  or is it
     midnight, Dec. 31, 2000, as indicated by logic (since there was no
     year zero)?

     My solution: to satisfy both of the warring camps, declare the _entire
     year_ of 2000 to be "the end of the millenium" (and century). The
     entire year could be one big party! Trond Andresen's proposed Jubilee
     -- the cancelling of all outstanding debts -- could be instituted. We
     could also dedicate that year to figuring out how to deal with the
     fact that computer software (and hardware?) almost always will be
     treating the year 2000 as if it were the year zero!

     A question for my money & banking class: if the year 2000 is announced
     to be the jubilee, what happens to the treasury yield curve?

in pen-l solidarity,

Jim Devine   jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ., 7900 Loyola Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90045-8410 USA
310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950
"Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way
and let people talk.) -- K. Marx, paraphrasing Dante A.