Alex Hartman's Profile

What concerns me a bit about self driving cars is the potential negative impact on the economy for a couple of reasons:
1. Putting the millions of drivers out of work could lead to a serious economic downturn and some serious civil unrest.
2. If cars are fully utilized instead of the current 5 percent utilization then obviously a lot less cars would need to be produced. This of course would have some serious negative implications for the auto industry. A lot of factory workers would lose their jobs.

With the potential devastating effect to the economy I wonder if politicians will be pressured to regulate away the driverless car.

My bad. Posted this comment to wrong blog.

I think there will still be a market for traditional realtors. Some people are just too busy to actively market and sell their own homes. For example, it will be very difficult for say a traveling consultant, to sell his or her home. If you are on the road all the time or have late hours in the office it would be impossible to show a prospective buyer to your home. Also, I like the idea of a rational agent brokering a deal. If you own the home you might have some sentimental attachment to it and could lead to you acting irrational in negotiations over price.

I too am optimistic that there is a market for brick and mortar bookstores. I think there are enough people who simply prefer to read with a physical book. As of now, the price of a kindle book is about that of a physical book. I wonder if we get to the point where digital books are a lot cheaper would the people who prefer a physical book become kindle users due to the price difference.

I wonder if offering the ability to download a movie and view it offline would be in violation of the agreements Netflix has reached with content providers. The ability to download feels more like ownership compared to streaming online. If I was a movie studio head I would demand more royalties.

What worries me about the issue here is that even with ample cyber security protections, everything is still hackable. As of now, I only have a couple connected items(computer and phone) and managing the security on those items can be cumbersome. Seems exhausting to have to worry about countless items in your home. When thinking about connected devices such as a speaker or toaster I was overlooking the security concerns, so thanks for pointing it out.

What concerns me a bit about self driving cars is the potential negative impact on the economy for a couple of reasons:
1. Putting the millions of drivers out of work could lead to a serious economic downturn and some serious civil unrest.
2. If cars are fully utilized instead of the current 5 percent utilization then obviously a lot less cars would need to be produced. This of course would have some serious negative implications for the auto industry. A lot of factory workers would lose their jobs.

With the potential devastating effect to the economy I wonder if politicians will be pressured to regulate away the driverless car.

I too was unaware about Goldman opening up a retail bank. I am struggling to see the value proposition here. Without an attached checking account and the ability to actually do banking activities I wonder if they will struggle to attract customers. Essentially this seem just like a place to park excess money and gain a higher return compared to other savings accounts. But the type of customer that has enough savings where the returns from the increased APR make a difference might be inclined to invest their money in other types of assets.

I am curious if property values have started decreasing in the cities must susceptible to climate change. Does it make sense to invest in Miami at this point when it is unclear that rising sea levels can be stopped and prevent Miami from flooding?

What worries me about climate change is misaligned incentives and people generally being misinformed. Donald Trump, alongside many others, may not care about the impact of the climate on their business 30 years down the road. Certain industries and people seem okay with maximizing their lifetime net worth at the expense of future generations. Secondly, too many voters in the United States do not think climate change is real. If we can not agree that is even happening I am concerned about our ability to figure out how to fix the issue.

I am curious how binding this industry pledge is, if at all. If JetBlue is not able to institute these changes in a cost effective manner that does not erode profits is it likely that they will stake make the needed changes? Further, with JetBlue being the only company to sign the American Business act pledge, will they be put at a competitive disadvantage.

Even if the resort is able to produce enough artificial now, I am concerned that customer demand will still decrease. I think that consumers are somewhat triggered to go skiing after a fresh snow fall. If it is warm outside and hasn’t snowed in a while, potential customers are not primed to think about skiing.

When thinking through the solar industry I am curious as to at what point these companies might become profitable? Are the companies banking on a technical breakthrough that will make solar energy more cost effective. Additionally, how long will investors allow these companies to have operating losses before capital is allocated elsewhere.