Ron Paul Vs. the Establishment

Gary North reports:

Peter Drucker years ago wrote that when a new technology reduces costs by 90%, it cannot be stopped. It will take over any market that has been maintained by an existing technology. The Internet has reduced communications costs – not counting our time – by far more than 90%. It cannot be stopped.

Any Establishment that fails to adjust to this new pricing structure for communications will not survive. This means that the single most important foundation of the present reigning Establishments is in its final stages unless the Establishments adjust. So far, they haven’t.

The information gatekeepers in every field except one are losing market share: newspapers, FCC-regulated television networks, K-12 public education, and movies. Radio long ago fell to the right-wing talk shows. All that the Establishment has left in radio are the news shows on National Public Radio: narcoleptic radio. ("The surgeon general has warned: Do not drive while listening to NPR.")

In only one area do they still maintain almost complete control: higher education. This control is maintained by means of a system of state-enforced accreditation. But there is a monster inside the gates of the halls of ivy: the for-profit University of Phoenix. It has at least 250,000 students enrolled today. It is mainly Web-based. It takes in over $2 billion in tuition each year. It is the harbinger of the future.

Drucker’s rule is about to manifest itself in higher education. He saw it coming. Distance learning cuts costs by 90%. "Universities won’t survive. The future is outside the traditional campus, outside the traditional classroom. Distance learning is coming on fast."

If you read one thing today,read this.