VW 'Dieselgate' software developed at Audi in 1999: report
I've noticed changes in my personality since this scandal happened.<p>Before it, I strongly believed that it's possible to be just as successful and competitive without breaking any rules.<p>I didn't go to exams which I didn't study for and refused to cheat when everyone else was doing it. 
I had opportunities to earn a lot of money by doing shady things, but I've always refused, because I didn't want to compromise on my moral values.<p>But diesel gate made me stop and think.<p>If Germany's largest company does it - then who else does it ?<p>Add to that the wiki/snowden leaks and now the panama papers (to name just a few) and I'm totally confused:<p>It seems that the rich and successful are all corrupt cheaters.<p>Why do I have to part with 30%-40% of my earned income so that some corrupt politicians can spend them on wars and distribute them to their cronies ?<p>Why do I have to play by the rules when the only advantage of doing so is a "clear conscience" which nobody gives two cents about ... maybe just my 5-year old daughter.. but she also believes in Santa Claus.<p>So this scandal has really put me at a moral crossroads - will I go on being a "sucker" or play by the "big boys' rules" and be taken 'seriously' - take advantage of the weak, find ways to avoid taxes, steal, cheat, etc ?<p>What's even more disturbing is that this scandal was provoked by maybe a handful of executives at VW, but now tens of thousands of engineers and workers are going to pay the price - in the form of layoffs, reduced bonuses and so on.<p>Once again, very unfair, since most of those people, I'm sure, are good professionals.<p>So yeah, scandals like this generate more than financial losses or pollution. They generate loss of faith and disappointment and encourage others to step over the line to the "dark side" and become corrupt themselves.