Current Events in September 2016

Google is perhaps one of the biggest companies in support of getting self-driving cars on the road. Back in March, it asked Congress to allow federal regulators to override the wishes of states that rejected the new technology, and since then it has been testing and refining its own prototype.

Testing new technologies comes with risks, though, and the company's self-driving car recently hit a bump in the road. On Friday, reports surfaced that the vehicle had been involved in an accident in Mt. View, Calif. Another driver allegedly ran a red light and collided with Google’s vehicle.

The car was operating autonomously when the crash occurred, but a Google employee quickly took over control and applied the brakes as the other car entered the intersection. No one was hurt as a result of the incident.

“A Google vehicle was traveling northbound on Phyllis Ave. in Mountain View when a car heading westbound on El Camino Real ran a red light and collided with the right side of our vehicle. Our light was green for at least six seconds before our car entered the intersection. Thousands of crashes happen everyday on U.S. roads, and red-light running is the leading cause of urban crashes in the U.S. Human error plays a role in 94% of these crashes, which is why we’re developing fully self-driving technology to make our roads safer,” said Google in a statement.

Improving safety

The crash comes shortly after safety regulators released new guidelines for autonomous vehicles. The provisions are meant to shore up any laissez-faire approaches to creating self-driving cars so that they are safe before consumers can operate them on the open road.

Safety advocates were pleased with the change in policy, saying that the Department of Transportation’s focus on consumer safety was “long overdue.” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx reiterated in a statement that self-driving vehicles could save many lives..

“Automated vehicles have the potential to save thousands of lives, driving the single biggest leap in road safety that our country has ever taken,” he said.

Despite the recent accident, Google will surely continue to test its self-driving technologies going forward. The company releases reports on how far its vehicles have traveled and provides accident details at its “Google Self-Driving Car Project” page here.

There aren't many good ways of getting rid of gray hair that don't involve clippers. In particular, Grey Defence dietary supplements don't reverse or prevent gray hair, a federal judge has ruled, ordering COORGA Nutraceuticals to stop claiming otherwise.

The court issued summary judgment on a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission and ordered the company to pay $391,335 which may be used to provide refunds to gray-haired consumers.

“If a company says a product can get rid of gray hair or have some other miraculous result, they need the science to support that,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We’re pleased that the court agreed with the Commission that strong product claims require strong evidence backing them up.”

The court held that no reliable scientific evidence supports COORGA’s advertising claims that Grey Defence supplements prevent or reverse gray hair, and any claims that the products are scientifically proven to do so are false.

Faulty survey

The court also found that a customer survey the defendants conducted was not well-designed or scientifically controlled. Finally, the court found that company owner Garfield Coore oversaw and directed every aspect of COORGA’s business and either knew, or was recklessly indifferent about, the misrepresentations and false claims made for Grey Defence.

The FTC filed its case against COORGA and Coore in in the U.S. Court for the District of Wyoming. The FTC previously reached settlements with two marketers of similar supplements, GetAwayGrey, LLC and Rise-N-Shine, LLC, both of which are now barred from making gray hair elimination claims unless they are not misleading and are supported by reliable scientific evidence.

Much has been said and written about the so-called “gig economy,” in which workers are not employees, but rather independent contractors.

Some people like the freedom and flexibility it offers. Others prefer the security and predictability of full-time employment.

Regardless, a new report from Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) suggests contract work is on its way to becoming the new normal in employment. The report shows that employers spent $792 billion on contract workers last year. In fact, 29% of all U.S. workers performed some kind of “gig” work in 2015.

For the purposes of the report, a gig is defined as any contingent work. It can include working as an independent contractor, consultant, or a freelancer. The term gig has recently become closely associated with freelance work made possible by the internet. For its purposes, SIA considers the term to describe work on a short-term basis.

Close to $800 billion a year

"At close to $800 billion, gig and contingent work is a very large sector of the economy, on par with areas that get much more scrutiny and understanding," said Barry Asin, President of SIA. "It's important to understand what is happening in the gig economy, not the least because there is a significant portion of the U.S. workforce that prefers alternative work arrangements to traditional, full time employment."

Asin says nearly 40% of people in the survey prefer alternatives to a traditional job, claiming 69% of independent contractors and self-employed workers prefer that to a full-time job.

At the same time, there are undoubtedly a lot of people in the gig economy who would prefer full-time jobs, but can't find them. After the financial crisis of 2008 rocketed the unemployment rate past 10%, businesses began to turn to the gig economy as they needed additional help.

No clear accounting

The U.S. Department of Labor says there is no clear accounting of gig economy workers, the SIA report not withstanding. It says the most recent data comes from 2005, well before the financial crisis. At that time, the government found that contingent workers accounted for 2% to 4% of all workers.

The government notes that some occupations lend themselves more to the gig economy than others. For example, it says work that involves a single task, such as writing a business plan, lends itself well to this type of arrangement.

In a little noted action Friday, the Federal Reserve published a proposed rule that it said would toughen the existing requirements and limitations placed on  investment banks and some other traders who speculate in the commodities market.

The Fed said it is proposing the action because of its concerns over potential “catastrophic, legal, reputational, and financial risks” these firms could suffer, possibly posing system risks to the financial system. Most likely policymakers have in mind the trading in mortgage backed securities that blew up in 2008.

The Fed notes that it is only a limited number of firms that engage in physical commodity trading. Still, it sees cause for concern.

“The possibility of an environmental accident due to these activities presents significant risks to the firms,” the Fed said in announcing a public comment period on the proposal.

Good for consumers

While the Fed is more concerned about the health of the financial system and the integrity of the firms that participate, consumers may have reason to cheer the proposal as well.

That's because it would make it more expensive for speculators to bid up the price of commodities, in particular oil. Lately, that hasn't been much of a problem, but in the past it was.

When the market believed that rapid growth in China and other developing nations would compete for limited oil supplies, the price of oil soared well over $100 a barrel in 2008, resulting in a national average gasoline price that topped $4 a gallon in July.

Could reduce future oil speculation

Since oil prices collapsed in 2014, speculators haven't been nearly as active in the oil market. The Fed rule, if enacted, would likely limit their activity in the future.

Speculators have been largely absent from the oil market since late 2014 because there has been little evidence that oil prices will sharply rebound. Crude oil is trading below $50 a barrel, less than half its all-time high.

The Fed rule would require participating companies to increase the amount of money they have in reserve when they deal in commodities activity, limiting the amount of trading activity they would have for physical commodities.

It would also establish greater transparency, requiring firms to expand reporting on the nature and extent of their physical commodity holdings and activity.

The new 2017 Cadillac XT5 midsize luxury SUV has been awarded the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) TOP SAFETY PICK+ award.

In addition to earning good ratings in all five of the Institute's crashworthiness evaluations, the midsize luxury SUV -- when equipped with optional front crash prevention -- received a superior or advanced rating, depending on the package selected.

Varying braking packages offered

When equipped with both Front Automatic Braking and Low-Speed Front Automatic Braking, the XT5 earns a superior rating for front crash prevention.

In the 12 mph IIHS track test, it consistently avoided a collision. In the 25 mph test, it avoided a collision in four out of five runs and slowed but didn't stop completely in the fifth.

When equipped with low-speed autobrake only, the XT5 earns an advanced rating. It avoided a collision in the 12 mph test, while in the 25 mph test, the impact speed was cut by 9 mph.

Both front crash prevention packages also include forward collision warning that meets National Highway Traffic Safety Administration criteria.

To qualify for a 2016 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraint tests. It also must have an available front crash prevention system that earns an advanced or superior rating.

July's big increase in sales of new single-family homes was followed by a sizable decline last month.

The Commerce Department reports sales plunged 7.6% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 609,000. Even with the decline, sales were 20.6% above the same month a year ago and are running at the fastest clip since January 2008.

As it released its August numbers, the government revised it's July figures to show sales that month ran at a rate of 659,000, 4,000 higher than originally reported.

Prices and inventories

The median sales price of new houses sold in August 2016 was $284,000, a decline of $9,100 from July and $16,200 from August 2015. The median is the point at which half the houses sold for more and half for less.

The average sales price was $353,600, up $1,600 from a month earlier and a year-over-year gain of $4,800.

The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of August was 235,000, which works out to a supply of 4.6 months at the current sales rate.

The complete report is available on the Commerce Department website.

General Motors is recalling 131 model year 2016 Cadillac CT6 vehicles manufactured July 21, 2016, to July 22, 2016.

The bolt that connects the front passenger seat belt webbing to the seat's anchor plate may be missing. Without the bolt, the seat belt webbing may detach from the seat anchor.

If the seat belt webbing detaches from the seat anchor, the seat belt may not properly restrain the front seat passenger in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

What to do

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the existing front passenger seat belt webbing anchor bolt, or install a bolt if it is missing, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin September 24, 2016.

Owners should not allow anyone to sit in the front passenger seat until the recall remedy has been performed.

Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is 16035. 

Denon Electronics of Mahwah, N.J., is recalling about 3,600 lithium-ion rechargeable battery packs sold in the U.S. and Canada.

The battery can overheat, posing a fire and burn hazards.

No incidents or injuries have been reported.

This recall involves Denon’s HEOS 1 Go Pack lithium-ion rechargeable battery packs for wireless speakers. Only HEOS 1 Go Packs with a 10-character alpha-numeric serial number beginning with 5 or 601G91 and ending with 3517 through 4004 are included in the recall.

The battery packs are black or white, hexagon-shaped and have four blue LED lights and a power button. HEOS, the model and serial numbers are printed on the bottom. Only the speaker battery is being recalled.

The battery packs, manufactured in China, were sold at Best Buy (Magnolia), Brookstone and online at BestBuy.com and Amazon.com from May 2015, through June 2016, for about $100.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled battery packs and contact Denon for a free replacement battery pack, including shipping.

Consumers may contact Denon toll-free at 844 -759-1987 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday and 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, or online at https://usa.denon.com.

We've all seen or heard about the letters and emails that claim the recipient has won a huge prize and needs only pay a few hundred dollars to collect their winnings.

These are all scams, of course. You can't win a lottery you didn't enter and there's no logical reason you would have to pay a fee to collect your supposed winnings. But the schemes are profitable even if only a tiny percentage of consumers fall for them.

That's why the U.S. Justice Department and other agencies have launched an effort to attack the schemes with criminal charges and lawsuits aimed at scam artists in the U.S. and abroad.

“Every year, fraudulent mail schemes target millions of Americans with false promises of wealth and riches, swindling hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens,” said U.S. Attorney General Loretta E.  Lynch. “Today’s actions send a clear message that the Department of Justice is determined to hold the perpetrators of these harmful schemes accountable. And they make unmistakably clear that we are committed to protecting our people from exploitation – especially our older citizens, who are so often the focus of these shameful ruses."

In a series of actions today, criminal and civil cases have been opened against multiple “direct mailers” who, collectively, are responsible for dozens of schemes involving tens of millions of dollars every year. In addition, today’s actions also seek to shut down several other actors who work with the mailers, including:

• an India-based printer that manufactures the solicitations and arranges for bulk shipment to U.S. victims;
• list brokers who buy, sell, or rent "sucker lists" of victims from one mailer to another so that once a victim has fallen prey to one scheme, others are able to target this victim; and
• a Canadian payment processor that, for more than 20 years, has helped dozens of international fraudsters gain access to U.S. banks and take money from victims.

“The defendants targeted the elderly and vulnerable by selling false promises of cash and lavish prizes,” said U.S. Attorney Robert L. Capers for the Eastern District of New York.  “Not surprisingly, the only good fortune befell the defendants. We will employ every available means, including educating consumers, to protect the public from these schemes.”

Canadian payment processor

PacNet Services Ltd. (PacNet), an international payments processor and money services business based in Vancouver, Canada, today was named a "significant transnational criminal organization (TCO)," along with a global network of 12 individuals and 24 entities across 18 countries. 

According to court filings made public today, PacNet has a 20-year history of engaging in money laundering and mail fraud, by knowingly processing payments on behalf of a wide range of mail fraud schemes that target victims in the United States and throughout the world. According to these records, in 2016 alone, PacNet has processed payments for the perpetrators of more than 100 different mail fraud campaigns, collectively involving tens of millions of dollars. 

Turkish direct mailer

In a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the government charged Ercan Barka, 34, a resident of Turkey, with conspiracy to commit mail fraud. According to the criminal complaint, Barka arranged for fraudulent solicitations to be mass-mailed to victims across the United States, telling recipients they had won cash awards or lavish prize items and needed to pay a “fee” to claim their winnings.Victims allegedly received nothing in return for their fees.

Barka was arrested by U.S. Postal Inspectors at JFK International Airport in New York on Sept. 3, as he was about to board a plane bound for Turkey.

Swiss/Singaporean direct mailer, Indian printer, and Connecticut “list broker”

In a separate civil action, the United States brought suit to shut down entities and individuals, some of whom have engaged in numerous predatory mail fraud schemes for more than a decade, targeting primarily the elderly and vulnerable. 

Among them is BDK Mailing GmbH, which allegedly acts as a “direct mailer” responsible for mailing millions of multi-piece solicitations to potential victims throughout the United States that profess to come from financial entities, scholars, and world-renowned psychics, with contrived names like “Harrison Institute,” “Dr. Grant,” “Finkelstein & Partner,” and “Marie de Fortune,” among others. 

The solicitations are written to give the impression that they are personalized and inform recipients that they will receive large sums of money, guaranteed money-making methods, and/or powerful talismans in return for payment of a fee of $50 to $55. In reality, the complaint alleges, the purported senders and the promised winnings are fictitious. Although victims send in the requested fees by cash, check, or credit card, they receive nothing in return. 

The complaint alleges that tens of thousands of victims send approximately $50 to $60 million annually in response to the defendants’ fraudulent solicitation packets.

Iowa actions 

In separate but related actions, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller filed consumer fraud lawsuits against two out-of-state mailing operations that Miller alleges are predatory businesses that use deceptive mailings to profit from the elderly and other vulnerable Iowans.

Miller also announced the settlement of a third case involving a New Jersey list broker company that markets consumer lead lists—including so-called “sucker” lists—to mass mailers.

“Our civil enforcement actions here in Iowa exemplify our ongoing efforts to pursue operations that we allege prey upon older Iowans and vulnerable Iowans,” Miller said. “Fighting this kind of consumer fraud is one of our highest priorities. We’re very pleased to work with our federal partners in this unprecedented attack on mail fraud to help protect people from this kind of financial exploitation.”

Miller filed a consumer fraud lawsuit in Polk County District Court against Waverly Direct Inc. and company owner and president, Gordon F. Shearer, both of Lynbrook, New York.

The lawsuit alleges that the company sends Iowans a congratulatory letter from the fictitious “Gerald St. John,” supposed director of the Numerological Resource Center, which, according to the lawsuit, is also a sham. The letter claims that the recipient has been specially selected to receive “life-changing” benefits, which would begin upon payment of a $20 “service/handling fee.”

“These solicitations, which we allege used a variety of falsehoods to take money from elderly Iowans, was bad enough,” Miller said. “But we further allege that one of the main functions of this deceptive mailing was to locate vulnerable people whose names could be sold to other scammers.”

The second lawsuit names Nicholas Valenti and three of his companies, WB Co., TL Distribution, and Southwest Publishing, all of Las Vegas.

The lawsuit alleges the defendants send deceptive mailings to Iowans promising to reveal – for a price – methods for consistently winning large sums of money in lotteries and other forms of gambling. The lawsuit also alleges that Valenti sells the rights to use his deceptive mailers to other would-be scammers.

“Both of these lawsuits allege wrongdoing on two levels,” Miller said. “In both suits we allege that the defendants not only sent deceptive mailings to Iowans, but also make money by selling the tools for others to pursue similarly predatory fraud-by-mail.”

In a separate case, Miller today reached an agreement with Macromark Incorporated, of Danbury, Connecticut, over Miller’s concerns that the company engaged in consumer fraud through its role in providing consumer lists to other companies, or list brokering.

“In our view, Macromark’s own files showed that the company knew it was helping scammers defraud vulnerable consumers – often the elderly,” Miller said. “We make every effort to deprive scammers of the support systems they need to prey on consumers, particularly the elderly, and we alleged that Macromark provided exactly that kind of support.”

In another blow for the for-profit college industry, the U.S. Department of Education is withdrawing its recognition of the independent agency that accredits many for-profit schools.

The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) is appealing the decision and will continue to operate while the appeal is processed. It accredits about 245 colleges that enroll 600,000 students. Many of its colleges are for-profit schools.

“While we are disappointed in this decision, ACICS plans to continue diligent efforts to renew and strengthen its policies and practices necessary to demonstrate this agency’s determination to come into full compliance with the Department of Education’s recognition criteria and, most importantly, to improve outcomes for the estimated 600,000 students currently attending ACICS-accredited institutions," the agency's interim president, Roger Williams, said in a prepared statement. 

ACICS was the accrediting agency for ITT Tech and Corinthian, both of which collapsed under the pressure of multiple investigations by federal and state agencies. 

Is your school affected?

If the appeal is not successful, schools accredited by ACICS will have 18 months to find a new accrediting agency. Is your school accredited by ACICS? Find out here.

In September 2015, a report by the Center for American Progress faulted ACICS for not taking action sooner against Corinthian Colleges.

“In April 2014—while the Department of Education was actively investigating the company for its questionable job placement rates and just a few months before the department acted to start Corinthian’s closure—ACICS renewed the accreditation of two Corinthian campuses and authorized a new branch campus,” the report noted.

The report also found that one out of every five borrowers at an ACICS-accredited college defaults on his or her loans within three years of entering repayment, 50% higher than the national average. Many of those loans are backed by federal agencies, meaning that the defaults wind up costing taxpayers.

Many Millennials have been caught in a housing squeeze. Unable to buy a home, they've been forced to remain renters. But in the wake of the housing crisis, when demand for rental property skyrocketed, so did rents. And as rents rose year after year, it was harder to get ahead.

However, there's finally some good news. Real estate marketplace Zillow reports rents are still rising, but not as fast as home values are.

In August 2015, rents were up an average of 6% over 2014 levels. But this year, the rise from last August is just 1.7%, to $1,405 on the Zillow Rent Index (ZRI).

Seattle most expensive rental market

Broken down among the largest housing markets in the U.S., Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, and San Diego saw rents go up the most, year-over-year. In fact, if you want to rent a place in Seattle, be prepared to pay a median $2,067 a month, up 10% over the last year.

In Portland, the median rent is up to $1,777 per month, a 7% gain over the last year. In Sacramento and San Diego, rents are up 5.5% and 5%, respectively.

Elsewhere, rents have slowed dramatically, perhaps in part due to aggressive apartment construction over the last five years.

Rents looking more attractive

Compared to home prices, rent is starting to look attractive. Zillow reports the median price of a home has risen 5.1% since August 2015, driven in part by the lack of homes for sale. Competition for those homes that are on the market has helped sellers get closer to their asking price.

Zillow also reports housing inventory is beginning to show slight gains since hitting lows at the beginning of the year. But compared to 2015, inventory is still down 5%.

If home inventory continues to pick up, Zillow predicts the growth in home prices will slow to 2.7% next year.

With the coming of autumn, many consumers are eagerly anticipating the arrival of Halloween. While spending for the holiday reached fairly high levels last year, the National Retail Federation is predicting that it will be eclipsed this year.

The organization’s annual survey, conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics, is predicting that consumers will spend $8.4 billion on Halloween purchases this year. That number reflects an all-time high for the survey’s 11-year history, and retailers are doing their best to get ready.

“After a long summer, families are excited to welcome the fall season celebrating Halloween. Retailers are preparing for the day by offering a wide variety of options in costumes, decorations and candy, while being aggressive with their promotions to capture the most out of this shopping event,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

$8.4 billion in spending

The analysts predict that spending on a per-person basis will increase to $82.93 this year, a jump of over $6 from last year’s total. In a breakdown of the numbers, the survey predicts that $3.1 billion will be spent on costumes, $2.5 billion on candy, $2.4 billion on decorations, and $390 million on greeting cards.

Consumers plan on celebrating the holidays in a variety of different ways this year. Results show that 71% of consumers plan to hand out candy, 49% will decorate their homes, 46% will carve pumpkins, 34% will throw or attend a party, 30% will take the kids out for trick-or-treating, and 21% will visit a haunted house. Sixteen percent will include their pets in festivities by dressing them up in a costume.

Where to shop?

Consumers will also have a number of choices of where to shop for holiday supplies this year. Forty-seven percent say they will visit discount stores for Halloween-related items, while 36% say they’ll look for supplies at specialty Halloween/costume stores. The remaining consumers will go to grocery stores/supermarkets (26%), department stores (23%), or shop online (22%).

“Consumers are eager to celebrate Halloween, especially given that eight in 10 Americans will shop by mid-October. That is the highest we have seen in the survey history,” said Prosper Insights Principal Analyst Pam Goodfellow. “Americans will enjoy taking advantage of early-bird promotions both online and in-store as they kick off the fall season.”

The survey included responses from 6,791 consumers who were asked about their Halloween shopping plans from September 6-13. The margin of error for the survey is plus or minus 1.2%.

In another case revolving around drug pricing, 36 states have joined a lawsuit against Indivior, the manufacturer of the branded drug Suboxone. Suboxone is a prime treatment for patients addicted to heroin and other drugs, including painkillers.

Included as a defendant is MonoSolRX , the company that licensed its sublingual film technology to Indivior.

Among the charges in the complaint, the states say Indivior tried to force patients to stop using a tablet and begin using a dissolvable oral strip version of Suboxone. It also alleges other anti-competitive behavior.

“My office will not permit drug companies to engage in anticompetitive conduct that unlawfully extends their monopolies – and their monopoly profits – on drugs,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. “Opioid abuse is a public health crisis, and opioid-dependent patients should have access to the most affordable addiction treatment options available.”

Orphan drug monopoly

Suboxone tablets have been an approved form of treatment since 2002. The tablet form of the drug lacked patent protection, but the FDA gave Indivior a seven-year “orphan drug” monopoly on Suboxone sales because the company was not expected to recoup its research and development costs.

However, Schneiderman says the drug generated $2 billion in U.S. sales for Indivior by 2010. The complaint claims that when Individor's exclusivity was set to expire seven years ago, it tried to prevent lower cost generic competition by initiating anti-competitive activities.

“The defendants in this case have preyed on a vulnerable population – men and women trying overcome the scourge of opioid addiction,” said Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh. “Free and fair competition is necessary to keep drug prices affordable and to keep much-needed prescription drugs accessible to those who rely on them for treatment.”

The suit seeks unspecified damages based on the amount of estimated profits the company earned on its alleged anti-competitive activity.

Addiction costs

Opioid addiction is a growing problem in the U.S., increasing the demand for the opioid treatment drug. A new report by researchers at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, the cost of prescription opioid overdose, abuse, and dependence in the U.S. is an estimated $78.5 billion a year.

"More than 40 Americans die each day from overdoses involving prescription opioids,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "The rising cost of the epidemic is also a tremendous burden for the health care system."

The study shows that health care costs make up about one-third of costs linked to the prescription opioid epidemic, and about a quarter of the costs are borne by state and federal governments.

In the wake of the Recession, Millennials continue to face economic challenges that hamper their career hopes. 

A new survey by EY, a professional services company, and the Economic Innovation Group, a policy and advocacy group, finds that the generation has been working hard to strike a balance between their hopes and their reality.

Millennials understand that hard work is the best way to overcome hurdles such as student debt, but their lack of confidence in American institutions is causing many to shy away from starting their own business or creating other opportunities for themselves.

Thoughts on higher education

Millennials are a well-educated bunch, but they don’t share the same thoughts on higher education as those in generations before them.

The survey found that two-thirds of Millennials believe having an education can boost their efforts to get ahead, but only 49% believe the benefits of a college education are enough to outweigh the cost.

For many young people, higher education entails a great deal of financial risk. Fifty-two percent of 18- to 34-year olds will leave college saddled with student loan debt, which may damage their perceived career prospects. In the survey, 43% of respondents said student loan debt has limited their career options.

Not very entrepreneurial

Although 72% of Millennials agreed that entrepreneurship is vital to the national economy, 44% said they think the best way to advance their career is to stick with one company.

Millennials’ hesitancy to start their own business can often be traced back to financial reasons. Low wages and student debt may lead many to opt for less risky career paths.

“When you’re pessimistic and distrustful as a generation, you tend to do things that make you poorer as an economy. Choosing those risk-averse paths, because they’re the ones with potentially the least downside, also caps your ability to grow,” John Lettieri, co-founder and senior director for policy and strategy at EIG, told the Washington Post.

‘Economically pessimistic’

Millennials may have a deep desire to get ahead in life, but the economic climate they were greeted by when they entered the workforce has led many to become skeptical of institutions and wary of making big leaps.  

"What the establishment doesn't understand is that in their minds, Millennials did all of the right things – they worked hard, got their education -- but they incurred huge amounts of debt and the job market they inherited hasn't rewarded any of these sacrifices,” said EIG cofounder and executive director Steve Glickman

Now, says Glickman, "they are deeply concerned about their future.”

It looks like Tesla will be taking on the state of Michigan for the right to sell its cars to consumers there. The company has filed a lawsuit disputing a law that bars it from selling vehicles directly to Michigan consumers. The action comes less than a week after the automaker’s application for a Class A license was denied by state officials.

The law in question was created in 2014. It dictated that no automaker would be able to sell its cars in Michigan unless it did so through franchised dealerships in the state. It has been dubbed by some as the “anti-Tesla” law because it specifically mentions Tesla in one of its amendments about requiring a franchised dealership.

This is a big problem for Tesla since its company model is based off selling cars directly to consumers; it says that efforts to open dealerships in Michigan have been blocked by state officials.

Opposing forces

Tesla claims that the 2014 law is unconstitutional because it effectively gives automakers in the state a monopoly on car sales.

“As a result of this law, Michigan consumers are forced to accept reduced access to the products they want, less competition and higher prices,” said Tesla in a statement. It goes on to say that it will continue to “fight for the rights of Michigan consumers to be able to choose how they buy cars in Michigan.”

Tesla asserts that its efforts to make headway in the state have been rebuked by Michigan lawmakers at every turn. It stated that it had initially hoped to resolve the matter through the state’s legislature, but it was dismayed to learn that its case would not be submitted for review.

“Unfortunately, the local auto dealers and local manufacturers have made clear that they oppose any law that would allow Tesla to operate in Michigan. Given their position, the leadership of the Michigan legislature recently informed Tesla that it will not even hold a hearing to debate the issue,” the company said in a statement.

“As one leading legislator told Tesla: ‘The local auto dealers do not want you here. The local manufacturers do not want you here. So you’re not going to be here.’”

The company is seeking a jury trial and has named Michigan’s Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Governor as defendants, since each allegedly was involved in preventing Tesla from operating its own stores in the state.