There is an argument which states that "Dieselgate" is a failure of regulation; moreover one in the most highly regulated economic area in the world.
If true, it indicates that regulations will always be gamed - companies are forced to make as much profit for shareholders as possible, and rules are made for clever folk to find loopholes.
This means regulatory oversight and compliance costs will need to go up and the companies will try to pass these on to the consumer.
And I fear ed_rex is correct inasmuch as any and all opposition to any measures made to fix the problem will land us in the hands of reactionary demagogues with fascist agendas, and Germany has a bit of a problem there, just like France and the UK.
Just what we need now, really, isn't it? Your sins will find you out, even if you are BMW or VW, or a politician who has turned a blind-eye to the behaviour of the car manufacturers. But it doesn't matter, the populists can always find a minority scapegoat for all of these problems. So I guess it's the victims of the hate crimes paying indirectly for the sins of the establishment in some bizarre transference of blame.
In some respects it turns category mistakes into policy, so no change there then.
no subject
If true, it indicates that regulations will always be gamed - companies are forced to make as much profit for shareholders as possible, and rules are made for clever folk to find loopholes.
This means regulatory oversight and compliance costs will need to go up and the companies will try to pass these on to the consumer.
And I fear ed_rex is correct inasmuch as any and all opposition to any measures made to fix the problem will land us in the hands of reactionary demagogues with fascist agendas, and Germany has a bit of a problem there, just like France and the UK.
Just what we need now, really, isn't it? Your sins will find you out, even if you are BMW or VW, or a politician who has turned a blind-eye to the behaviour of the car manufacturers. But it doesn't matter, the populists can always find a minority scapegoat for all of these problems. So I guess it's the victims of the hate crimes paying indirectly for the sins of the establishment in some bizarre transference of blame.
In some respects it turns category mistakes into policy, so no change there then.