“The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of ‘liberalism’ they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.”

Socialist Party presidential candidate Norman Thomas


Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Another infuriating light-bulb blog post


In what to me is perhaps the most egregious violation of the American people on behalf of stupid polar bears is the coming government ban on cheap, reliable, and bright incandescent light bulbs, in favor of expensive, flickering, and dangerous compact fluorescent bulbs. It's no secret or coincidence that GE stands to profit greatly from the idiotic ban and that CEO Jeffery Immelt is Obama's best corporate friend. But there are other companies which are looking to profit from our absurd willingness to destroy an entire industry on behalf of an imaginary weather phenomenon....

From Yahoo.com -- NEW YORK – Two leading makers of lighting products are showcasing LED bulbs that are bright enough to replace energy-guzzling 100-watt light bulbs set to disappear from stores in January.

Their demonstrations at the LightFair trade show in Philadelphia this week mean that brighter LED bulbs will likely go on sale next year, but after a government ban takes effect.

The new bulbs will also be expensive — about $50 each — so the development may not prevent consumers from hoarding traditional bulbs.

Yeah, once our cheap incandescents are banned, predatory companies who make stupid compact fluorescent and LED's will jack their prices way up because we won't have any alternatives for how to light our homes and work places. How is this consistent in any way with the fundamental concepts of capitalism and the free market?

I swear, if you still don't think Obama is intentionally harming this country every way he can, you should be institutionalized, smothered with your own pillow, and forgotten.

4 comments:

Lighthouse said...

I agree the ban is wrong:

Overall,
the ban on the popular simple cheap safe types of
incandescents makes no sense, from any perspective...
not just re choice,
not just re usage safety,
not just re there not being an electricity shortage for paying
customers (and even less so in the future, with all the renewable and
low emission alternatives)
- but also the overall society energy savings are small, less than 1%, as from US Dept of Energy own figures:
http://ceolas.net/#li171x

Besides, notice how light bulb manufacturers have pushed for and
welcomed this ban on cheap unprofitable light bulbs, as also covered on the website with documentation and references.

Frank Provasek said...

The Energy Independence and National Security Act was signed into law, not by the “nanny state loving socialist Obama,” but by Republican free market champion George W. Bush. When President Bush signed the bill into law on December 19, 2007, he praised the energy efficiency standards, “The bill also includes revisions to improve energy efficiency in lighting and appliances. It adopts elements of the executive order I signed requiring federal agencies to lead by example in efficiency and renewable energy use.”

This bill came into being as the legislative response to George W. Bush’s Twenty in Ten challenge during his 2007 State of the Union. In the address, Bush called on the United States to improve fuel economy, and increase alternative fuels. His goal was to cut gasoline consumption by 20% in 10 years. All of the current right wing outrage over light bulbs is due to a proposal by their own Republican president. It was their idea. Instead of trying to pass this plan off as Democratic big government, they need to look in the mirror. If they don’t like the new bulbs, they should be blaming themselves, not Obama or the Democrats.

Bill Lockhart said...

I wonder if we can still get the incandescents from Canada or Mexico?

Ed said...

Probably, but there'll be a big tariff on them, that is if they aren't considered contraban.