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It’s surprising that people are so worried about the economy when the world is going to end in 2012 anyway. We don’t really need our 401(k)s to coast to the finish line from here.

In case you haven’t heard, reliable sources such as Nostradamus and the ancient Mayans – The Old Farmer’s Almanac has yet to take a stand – warn us that we have until Dec. 21, 2012, to tell our families we love them, reconcile with our enemies and return all of our movie rentals.

Then, that’s it. One minute you’re listening to Bing Crosby singing “Christmas in Killarney,” and the next you’re an amorphous blob of plasma, wondering if you still have to feed the dog.

Or maybe that day will just bring the end of the current phase of human existence. The predictions are uncanny and amazing, but they’re not what you would call crystal clear.

For example, Nostradamus wrote: “In the year 1999 and seven months The Great, King of Terror shall come from the sky. He will bring to life the King of the Mongols. Before and after, Mars reigns happily.” This is a little looser than predicting an afternoon high of 28 degrees in Altoona.

Technically speaking, “1999 and seven months” is kind of far away from 2012, but you’re thinking old school if you quibble with details like that. There’s a reassuring consensus among Web sites that Dec. 21, 2012, is the big moment, all right.

For one thing, that’s when the Earth and the sun line up with the center of the Milky Way galaxy. According to one writer, this will “form a ‘gateway’ between the Universe and the souls of every living creature on Earth. Our linear conception of time will crumble, and with it, fear and hatred will vanish.” Also, you’ll be allowed to return clothes for cash, not just a store credit.

Still not convinced, despite this overwhelming evidence? OK, take a look at the Mayan calendar – it’s probably in the drawer where you keep the tape and the thumbtacks.

The Mayans created a remarkably accurate time-keeping system, pinpointing eclipses and other celestial events over many centuries. Eerily enough, it ends with Dec. 21, 2012. This might be because the guy in charge of finishing the calendar took an early retirement buyout, but it probably indicates that time stops on that date.

And another reason time might stop is because of something that has been called Nibiru or the Comet Planet or Planet X. It’s expected to arrive in Earth’s neighborhood in – you guessed it – 2012.

Every time Planet X zips past, something bad happens: mass extinctions, the Great Flood described in the Bible, the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football. One theory is that time will continue but the Earth will stop spinning, giving us a 50/50 chance of ending up on the shady side. You might want to start stockpiling firewood.

It’s not just one prophet and one civilization suggesting that your last chocolate chip cookie is less than four years distant; The United Church of Critical Thinking reports that many civilizations have targeted that year as a metaphysical uppercut. The stone calendar inside the Great Pyramid highlights 2012. The Cherokee calendar ends then. The Maoris say there will be a merging of the physical and spiritual worlds. The Zulus believe that the world will be turned upside down. The Dogon say the spaceship of the visitors, the Nommo, will return in the form of a blue star.

Taking these facts together, one conclusion seems inescapable: If you ever get invited to a Dogon party, you definitely should go. Those people sound like fun.

So what should businesses do to prepare for the end of the world as we know it? Along about the third quarter of 2012, lighten up on inventory. And as for your year-end report to the board of directors, schedule that for Dec. 22.