I'm inclined to believe the pollution from just 500,000 of these vehicles across the country hasn't harmed as many people as the GM scandal, but that isn't the

I'm inclined to believe the pollution from just 500,000 of these vehicles across the country hasn't harmed as many people as the GM scandal, but that isn't the whole story. The basic idea behind the regulation is that if every manufacturer didn't follow it, there would be a lot more pollution and many more people could be harmed. Whether or not we agree with that prediction is irrelevant. The people elected representatives who made this law, granting regulatory authority, at least in part to prevent it from happening. They have the authority to collect the fine. How many people were actually harmed has nothing to do with it (at least directly). It makes more sense to be upset at how GM (partly owned by the government at the time) got off so easy.