In September 2015, Volkswagen had to recall 482,000 cars in the US. Why? The US government discovered that these cars contained software that cheat emissions tests and release more pollution than allowed, 40 times more. And it gets worse (or funnier, depending on how you look at it). VW admitted four days later that it was not just 482,000 cars, but 11 million cars worldwide that contained these emission cheating devices. US Chief Michael Horn says the company “totally screwed up,” while Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn says he is “deeply sorry” and insisted he did nothing wrong. Sounds like a couple of cheaters, right? Unsurprisingly, countries started to act like resentful victims of cheating: Switzerland banned the sales of VW diesel cars, France and Italy launched investigations, and even Australia halted their sales. Moral of the story? Don’t cheat, and don’t pull a Volkswagen.
By: Kaytlyn Lozano
1 Comment
Who needs you anyway. On November 2, 2017 House Republicans unveiled their proposed tax bill reform. One of the proposed cuts is the student loan deduction. For recent graduates entering the “real world,” already buried in debt, it seems unfair to remove the deduction they might be banking on, but the removal isn’t as serious as it sounds. For borrowers who claim it, the student loan interest deduction doesn’t amount to much anyway. The problem is in the diminishing value over time; as students pay back more of their loan over time, the amount of interest they’re paying is shrinking. The longer the debt is being paid, the less the payments go towards interest, and this leads to smaller deductions. Moreover, the deduction allows borrowers to deduct up to $2,500 in qualifying interest if they meet the necessary criteria, but even for someone in the 25 percent tax bracket that only amounts to a $625 tax break. Merely a drop in the bucket for recent graduates with upwards of $40,000 in debt, and most borrowers see even less of a break. By: Emily Crueger
|
AuthorSCornelius, Ceili ArchivesCategories |