VW caught cheating EPA board. 18 BILLION in possible recalls

Not skirting. I do not believe deaths can easily be directly attributed to VW's emissions anymore than deaths can be directly attributed to all the other cars emissions.

 

Congrats on addressing the thread title.

 

Must leave this here.

 

Except we the people, so to speak through our democratic governments which sets those emissions laws, accept and mandate a certain trade off for so much smog that is tolerable versus the risk that the amount of smog allowed by law will injure or kill someone via lung disease. When someone exceeds that accepted and codified legal limit willfully, they are basically accepting that they are okay with illegally hurting the environment and the people that live in it more in exchange for additional profits. That's not cool in my books.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't be able to voice an opinion, but most of your argument has been "damn gubarment" and "everyone pollutes, so hey what was wrong with VW polluting a little more" which most people would agree are pretty weak arguments. VW broke the law, what they did hurt the environment more than we accept, and they should be punished with that in mind. End of story. Should it be the major news discussion of the year? No, but people love drama and this legal battle is going to have tons of that.

 

I'm pro VW. Way to use the system against itself. EPA overreach.

 

I never took a position that what VW did is ok. Your bias is making a predetermined outcome of my opinion.

And I bet you the drama, as you call it, would have a different tone if it was GM. THAT is the .gov and media agenda. And the lemmings on social media would follow right off the cliff.

 

It always irks me that people claim EPA overreach. 99% of laws that are passed under EPA's authority has had stakeholder input, as well as a chance for public input. EPA relies on the entities they're regulating to provide them with information on goals and numbers that are reasonable and attainable. And everything is posted for public comment. Problem is most people dont care about anything untils affects them directly (called "not in my backyard" attitude), and by then it's too late because the laws have already become effective and are being implemented. If you think EPA has too much overreach, then be proactive, do your research, and become knowlegable about what you're opposing. Don't just sit around and complain, then think you're smarter than everyone else because you think you realize something that no one else can possibly see or fathom.

Sorry for the rant. Back on topic

 

The EPA is another bloated .gov agency full of over paid government bureaucrats who are not elected and can impose regulations without a democratic process. Yes, our elected representatives are supposed to do just that, represent us, and have input into these agencies...but that doesn't happen once most of them reside inside the beltway.

15 thousand employees (plus contract employees) and a 9 BILLION dollar annual budget. Hole-Lee-Crap!!!

I bet Trump could do it with a couple hundred folks in a few regional offices and a fraction of that budget.

 

aaaaaaaaaaaaand locked.

 

Larry, you sound like an intelligent, standup dude, which is why I have a hard time understanding how you can make your statements. Based on your comments here, it seems like your position is that anything that has to do with environmental regulation is automatically a waste of time and money, and therfore EPA is deceptive, overfunded, overreaching, and just a complete waste. I dont doubt that there is some government waste, just like all fed agencies (including DoD), but it just seems unfair to say that the entire agency needs to be pretty much nixed, considering all that they do. Also keep in mind that a substantial chunk of their budget goes to the States. Heres some good info to see where their budget goes, just in case you or anyone else is interested:
http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-03/documents/fy15_bib.pdf

 

Thank you.

 

Yeah, I can just see it...
Trump's EPA implementation.... 5 excons from a halfway house...sitting around an empty parking lot. Trump: "You guys are getting paid $8 an hour. Here's a single snow shovel. How far can you see down that polluted river? 5 miles? yeah.. Dig up all that soil and put it in this gallon ziplock. Done. How hard is that. Protective equipment? you don't need it. Get to work." Budget smudgets.

Dead people and poor people cant sue the gubment.

Muricah.

edit: just got done reading this article this am on an unrelated purpose..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Rock_Uranium_Mill_Spill

 

Entertaining thread! I'm just hanging around waiting to hear if there is a buy back offer or fix that doesn't cut my mileage. I could check a VW forum or the news but it's way more fun around here!

 

Recall supposed to commence in January

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/volkswagen-s-u-s-ceo-admits-knowing-of-emissions-cheating-1.3262100

 

More names for the court case.

 

A lot of people had to be in the know on this for it to go on as long as it has. Once again the little guy will suffer for management misdeeds. The workers have already been warned to expect "painful changes" as they tackle the emissions scandal.

 

Workers can say they feared for their jobs. The CEO's and other higher ups can't say that. That all being said can you guess where the cash to fix this mess will come from? Cut back wages and hours would be my guess.

 

Goodbye VW F1 team