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President Clinton has been briefed in a report by Capers Jones on the magnitude of the problem and the need to get Europe to put y2k of the front burner instead of the EMU conversion. So says the London SUNDAY TIMES (Nov. 23).
Jones is a heavyweight in the y2k field. So is Howard Rubin, who is said to avise Clinton on the problem.
Yet Clinton has been almost silent on the issue. Why?
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President Clinton has been told by specialist consultants to call for postponement of the starting date of the single currency. A confidential report requested by the White House, and seen by The Sunday Times, recommends that he "formally request that the European Union should delay the Euro-currency date until after the year 2000 problem can be dealt with".
The report, from Capers Jones, a computer-software consultant, adds: "Since no company or country has enough resources to do both upgrades, it would be prudent for the European community to move the date for Euro currency conversion from 1999 to 2005." . . .
The president was briefed on the paper by Howard Rubin, his adviser on the millennium bug, known as Y2K in America. "It is my belief that because the US is around two years ahead of Europe in solving the computer problem, that the president is extremely likely to offer his advice," he said yesterday. Jones said he had the backing of leading Wall Street economists, computer experts and influential members of Congress.
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