Juggling Dynamite

In the aftermath of the credit bubble, students and their parents are no longer able or willing to borrow mind-boggling sums to ‘afford’ education. Governments will not be able to continue underwriting super-sized post-secondary costs either. Economic realism is demanding new, more efficient learning models. More savings for consumers and more creative destruction for institutions that have become impossibly bloated and disconnected from the financial resources of their customers. Sal Khan is a leader in this revolution. His insights in this discussion are worth the time.

Khan Academy’s Sal Khan discuss whether or not online education will ever replace traditional classrooms, and why he thinks paying for that MIT or Harvard degrees may be “a little bit suspect.” Here is a direct video link.

Here is segment two of his interview. Here is segment three.

Technological advancement is not only disrupting the traditional business models of energy producers. Driverless cars are another massive disruptor on the horizon. A lot less accidents will be an enormously positive change for drivers and taxpayer-funded health care, while lowering insurance costs, and thus evaporating a cornerstone of traditional insurance profits. On the other hand, blame for whatever accidents do happen will more likely fall on manufacturers, who will need to increase their insurance coverage. The world is in the midst of massive change. 10-20 years from now, what we think of as state of the art today will be considered old-fashioned artifacts.

The advent of driverless vehicles may be a game-changer for insurers. The need to address legal issues, such as third-party liability in the event of an accident, is becoming more pressing. Here is a direct video link.
 

Saudi Arabia has seen the future and understands that the world is moving away from oil. Eh tu Canada?

Saudi Arabia relies on oil exports for around half its revenues, but as low oil prices raise the country’s deficit, non-oil economic growth has been slowing too. Bloomberg’s Willem Marx reports on efforts by some Saudis to diversify the Kingdom’s economy.Here is a direct video link.