News in VW Emissions Scandal Has Broader Implications
It appears that the first VW employee responsible for the emissions scandal, an engineer, James Robert Liang, is headed off to prison, after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, commit wire fraud and violate the Clean Air Act. What will become of his numerous co-conspirators is anyone’s guess. The whole proceeding is bound to take many years, as Liang is fully cooperating with the Justice Department, and will likely rat out people far higher in the food chain than a lowly engineer. We can only hope that happens; the DoJ clearly wants the big fish, and they just may get them.
All this is happening in the context of an extremely widespread government crackdown on automakers that choose profits over honesty. Apparently, the Chinese government is particularly incensed, and has taken punitive action against more than 25 makers of cars, trucks and buses, that violated the laws associated with emissions reporting and compliance.
It’s also occurring in a year in which Wells Fargo shocked the world with its massive operations to defraud and steal from its customers.
Perhaps this will cause eyebrows to be raised about granting corporations more power and immunity from prosecution, as guaranteed in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. We also need to keep in mind that the TPP is just one of the usurpations of the will of the people associated with the ever-expanding power of large corporations and their stranglehold on the U.S. law-making process. Citizens United is clearly another.
It may be time to head in the opposite direction with respect to the treatment our corporations receive in today’s civilization. Maybe we need more transparency, and legislation to overturn laws that grant corporations the ability to take control of our Congress. Just maybe.
This should also point out the need for better testing procedures.
When emissions testing began, I seriously questioned their validity. The exhaust gasses are analyzed while the engine is idling, NOT while the car is being driven under actual or simulated normal conditions. Thus, I see the fraud as partly the fault of VW and its employees AND those who designed the emission testing procedures.
It should be obvious that even if vehicle manufacturers are honest, emissions control systems could fail in such a way that a vehicle could pass with the current testing methods and still produce excessive emissions under normal driving conditions. It will be investing to see whether testing methods are improved as the result of this fiasco.
@ Craig
thanks for giving us some new info on the status of the VW criminal actions. They defrauded their customers and did so on a large scale.
Hopefully many Executives Get Burned BAD unlike the Wall st crooks and fraudsters.
Frank may have some points in testing methodology perhaps reforms are in order.
But has V W used that in its defense? I wonder. But it seems that VW has pretty much been found guilty in multiple courts in different countries.
As far as the upcoming TPP – I have listened to Lori Wallach from Public Citizens Watch several times on the radio. She has been researching the TPP for many years. She explains the secrecy and how only a small part of the TPP is for trade tariffs most of it is secret corporate powers being established so that they can Over Rule our own laws if they dont like it. Corporate Courts that can over rule our other laws!
NAFTA has some similar components in it. The Mexican Tuna fishers went to court to over turn a ruling in the US to ban a certain form of tuna fishing that was killing other fish in great numbers,.
Well they were allowed to go to court and over throw a good ruling that had good impacts. So the rule of public good over all other points has been thrown aside.
TPP will undermine our democratic institutions and good environmental laws and labor rules etc. TPP appears to be just another case of the RACE to BOTTOM as Corporations are taking over.
Its called Neo Liberalism where the market place over rules the Government and the Public want. Most of my crowd is very disappointed that Mr Obama has shown his Neo liberalism mindset a globalist follower as he is pushing this and 95 % of the Dem party says NO as do most of the GOP electorate except their high up leaders who are also Corporatists and Neo Liberals Globalist s who are stooges for the ruling Corporate Class.
Obama is contradicting several speeches he gave in 2008 when he said all trade deals would be held in public and no secrecy etc. He has been Compromised for a Library a Foundation like Clinton and I liked Obama too, but his TPP support is the defining bad policy move for which my judgement will lie. He has left his Roots behind and become a just another fella who went to Wash and did well for himself all smiles and jokes aside . Sad to be so hard on him but he broke his public word one time too many and he cant blame this on GOP , they made me do it. excuse like Clinton does.
Many Many Dems I know feel similar they just sigh and say well Obama wants a cush retirement? or something!
Other speakers on the radio have said that TPP has a military defense component to it so that we can base Marines in Australia and also make other inroads in SE asia – so we can Contain China!
Contain China when our corporations and our government fell over themselves for the last 15 years in allowing China to grow into a industrial powerhouse etc. Take our jobs play with the currency invest and inflate our real estate , etc etc. We enabled this and now we want to try to contain them ?? So Capitalism divides and conquers once again.
If some one can shed light on this TPP and what good if any is there please speak up. I see no need for any more trade deals myself. We need to take care of America first as we are crumbling economically we have a financial bubble economy Now and that is not a solid foundation for the future.
Make no mis- take I am no Trumperite he is a Con man with the anti trade thing. So I discount any thoughts he has on TPP .
If someone can inform us on TPP and give justification for it would be nice! like to learn something!