Y2K Wipes Out Every National Government in the West
Gary North, 1998: Y2K 'Cannot Possibly Be Fixed' and Will 'Wipe Out Every National Government in the West'
The most prolific Y2K doomsayer told readers the federal government would 'go under' and the US would break up like the USSR. He called it 'our deliverance.'
What was said
“The y2k crisis is systemic. It cannot possibly be fixed.”
— Gary North (economist, newsletter writer and Y2K website publisher) · said 1998 · due January 1, 2000
January 1, 2000 came and went with every Western national government still in place, including the federal one.
The Story
Quoted in an April 1998 extropians mailing-list post, via a web page collecting North's Y2K writing.
It went on: 'I think it will wipe out every national government in the West. Not just modify them - destroy them. I honestly think the Federal government will go under. I think the U.S.A. will break up the way the U.S.S.R. did. Call me a dreamer. Call me an optimist.'
And: 'In my view, y2k is our deliverance. Just don't be in a city when deliverance comes.' In a 1998 interview he said production would stop 'Close enough to "all" to threaten your life'. Other Y2K entries: yourdon-beirut-2000, y2k-2000, de-jager-doomsday-2000, falwell-y2k-2000.
As of Oct 9, 2026
since it didn't happen
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