1,500,000 cars. Just try to imagine 1,500,000 cars in one place. Executives of General Motors can. As I am sure some of you are aware, the General Motors Company (owner of GMC, Cadillac, Chevy, Buick, and the now defunct Hummer, Saturn, and Pontiac lines) has called for a massive recall on a number of their vehicles. This recall is due to a faulty ignition switch, that has been used in GM cars since the early 2000’s. This issue has been attributed to at least thirteen deaths in the past decade, though it is speculated that many more cases may have been unrecorded or attributed to something else. Perhaps the worst part of this story is that GM’s designers have been using this system for a decade KNOWING that it was faulty and in many cases prone to catastrophic failure.

This case, first brought to light this past summer, has seen GM sued for $35 Million. Many believe that this is not enough, and congress is currently considering passing a bill that would raise the fine to $300 million. But this would be mere pocket change to a company like GM; who, in 2013 had a total equity of $42.6 billion. So where is the accountability? How are we allowing companies to take advantage of a system that allows companies to only pay .08% of their total annual profits for THIRTEEN known wrongful deaths! How also, is there no penalty for companies like Target and Home Depot who have had security leaks of customer’s bank information costing the average joe millions. Why are our governmental regulations so poor in areas of new technology? (An area which the U.S. is one of if not the world leader in!) Congress needs to stop focusing on its interparty fighting, and act like the adults we elected them to be.

Regardless of anyone’s views on our government; I want you all to be safe when driving, both on campus and on the roads.  Here is a list off the makes, models, and years of vehicles affected by the recall. If your vehicle is on this list, don’t be alarmed! Odds are that since you have made it so far your car is fine. Still it is smarter to play it safe and if you haven’t already, take your car to your local mechanic, for a complete list of recalled GM brand cars visit http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/05/us/gm-recalls/