Posted on 01/05/2014 5:38:17 AM PST by IbJensen
Actually, just like Barack Obama’s promise regarding health insurance, this one’s not true either. As of Jan. 1 (Happy New Year, by the way!), the import or manufacture of 40-watt or 60-watt light bulbs is now forbidden in the United States. This follows the ban on 75-watt and 100-watt bulbs, which had already been implemented.
I wish we could blame this on the current Administration, but actually this assault on our freedom of choice goes back to 2007, when Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act and it was signed into law by President George W. Bush.
Yep, the prohibition on incandescent bulbs is actually six years old. It just didn’t get much publicity until replacement light bulbs began disappearing from store shelves. Now that more consumers realize what’s happening, a whole bunch of people are stockpiling the ones that remain. If this is the first you’re learning of it and you want to keep some incandescent bulbs on hand, good luck finding some.
The experts who’ve decided they know what’s good for us say that, in time, we’ll learn to appreciate the wisdom of their policies. After all, the new compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that we’re being forced to use are much more energy-efficient than the trusty old favorites. The new bulbs last so much longer — up to 23 years, we’re told — that we’ll save money in the long run. So what if they cost 10 times more money than the old, familiar light bulbs that we’ve used for the past 100 years?
And so what if we hate the way these new light bulbs look? Or the weird kind of light many of them give out? Your not-so-friendly Federal government has decided that it doesn’t matter what your preferences might be. No consumer choice here — except which kind of new, energy-efficient light bulb you’re going to buy.
Welcome to one more way that Big Nanny government manages to intrude into the bedroom — not to mention the kitchen, living room and anyplace else where you flip a switch and expect a light to come on.
Oh, and how do you like how long it takes for some of these bulbs to come to full strength? I went into a guest bathroom recently. When I turned on the switch, it was still so dark in the room that I could barely find the toilet. In time, the room got a little bit brighter. But forget about bringing any reading material in with you.
Don’t look to Congress for any relief from these edicts. The House tried twice, back in 2007, to let us keep our incandescent bulbs. But two alternatives offered up by conservative lawmakers, the Better Use of Light Bulbs Act or the Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act, failed to pass the House.
Facing the inevitable, General Electric has closed the last factory in the U.S. that manufactured incandescent bulbs. The shutdown of the plant in Winchester, Virginia cost 200 employees their jobs. And don’t count on the forced demand for CFLs and LEDs creating a bunch of new jobs in this country. All of those are being manufactured abroad, mostly in China. Thanks, Uncle Sam, for helping export even more U.S. jobs.
The assault on the light bulb is mere trifle, however, compared to the job losses and financial costs of Obama’s war on coal. And this isn’t happening because of any laws passed by Congress. No, the culprits here are the bureaucrats in the Environmental Protection Agency, who simply decree whatever regulations they deem necessary to achieve their goals.
Estimates are that some 600,000 jobs will be lost because of the EPA directives, mostly in Kentucky and West Virginia. Last week, both Kentucky Senators, as well as all five of the State’s Representatives, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Supreme Court, in support of a lawsuit challenging the EPA’s authority to regulate coal plants.
Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said the case is “an egregious example of the EPA’s violation of the law in pursuit of its overzealous, anti-coal agenda.” And he added, “The ability to create laws is the purview of Congress and the EPA has clearly overstepped its authority.”
We’ll find out later this year if the Supreme Court agrees with him and does anything to retard the EPA’s onslaught against the coal industry. If not, you can expect to pay a lot more for electricity in this country. Nicolas Loris, an economist at the Heritage Foundation, warned that the EPA assault on coal-fired power plants “will deliver a blow to the economy and raise costs for consumers.” He added: “Any way you shake this, it’s a no-win for our economy.”
And speaking of a no-win, how about the latest on Obamacare? Just before Christmas, the Obama Administration announced that it was waiving the individual mandate for people who have had their existing health insurance policies canceled.
Geez, wasn’t it only a few weeks ago that the Democrats allowed a partial shutdown of the federal government, rather than pass any Republican-endorsed measure to delay the individual mandate? Now it seems that Obama and his allies are tacitly admitting that Senator Ted Cruz and the House Republicans were right in demanding a delay.
This is just one more example of how the Obama Administration is changing the law without bothering to get Congress involved. Columnist John Fund says delaying the individual mandate “is at least the 14th unilateral change to Obamacare that’s been made without consulting Congress.”
Ho-hum, another crisis, another unconstitutional edict from the folks in the White House.
Considering all of the attacks on our freedoms, is it any wonder that the latest Gallup poll says that 72 percent of Americans now say that Big Government is a threat to our liberties? That number is a new record high, by the way.
As I said last week, there are some encouraging signs that more and more Americans are standing up and speaking out in defense of their principles. It was wonderful to see the furor that erupted when A&E Networks suspended “Duck Dynasty” patriarch Phil Robertson.
Let’s hope the new year will bring us some more such victories. I hope that one of your resolutions will be to do your part in making it happen.
Until next time, keep some powder dry.
Energy Independence and Security Act (Chinese Light Bulbs)
Affordable Care Act (Lucifercare)
Had one of those new bulbs burn out with a gas cloud in my bathroom. The smell was noxious and from what I read - toxic! No more of these in my home, I will pay a premium for the bad illegal bulbs until I can’t get them anymore - then burn candles until they make those illegal too.
I had a thought about something that might affect those who are said to have stockpiled dozens of 100-watt light bulbs. At some point will it be impossible to purchase lamps that can take 100watters? It might be wise to purchase some quality lamps for future use.
Inquiring minds think:
The EXEMPT US Congress did this either because
1) it helps al Qaeda and illegals
more than Americans
and/or
2) the EXEMPT, hated, US Congress actually, impetuously
made money off of this tyranny.
Anyone can still buy the “severe service” or “Commercial Grade” incandescent light bulbs. They left those alone in the legislation. Most commonly used by contractors t construction sites and also available all over the place for drop lamps more commonly used in garages by mechanics.
With that said, I long ago went to LED because they do not suffer from the vibrations of rugged use. True, they cost more to obtain but I have had no need to replace them. One needs to consider that factor in their buying decisions. For the home I am switching to LED after my supply of the regular bulbs is depleted.
This is a world-wide phenom - started in Brazil in 2005, and much of Europe is already deep into no-lightbulb land.
I like it much better than my CFLs, although interestingly, its not that much more energy efficient. It work much better though. Hopefully the prices of these things continues to drop.
Is the light quality better than CFLs?
standard socket……. .till they make the socket hazardous
Yeah, 23 years my butt...they last 2 years max under normal use. I tried them out and am now replacing them as they blow. The whole thing is yet another global warming scam, and I guarantee that in about 20 years or so, we’ll be reading horror stories about mercury contamination in the landfills because of these things.
I like the new led bulbs. They are way more efficient.
We are closing all kinds of usable coal plants throughout the country. We must save energy some how.
I am glad I have a stockpile of the bulbs in 40 60 and 100 watts, enough to last me through till I check out for good which my doc assures me will be within ten years.
This is the same court that ruled Carbon Dioxide was a pollutant, wishful thinking that they have any intention of offering relief from the EPA.
I wonder if we’ll return to whale oil to light America’s lamps? It would certainly involve slaughtering more whales than can be found in the oceans.
We could use tallow candles, but then where could we find enough tallow.
As far as heating is concerned we could all move to Florida in the winter, then come back up north for a few summer months. I’ve been doing this for years.
Those new light bulbs don’t seem to last as long as Thomas Edison’s invention and if you drop and break one you could get sick. But then there’s the benefit that our entrenched political class is pleased with: it gives the Chinese something more to do. What would we do without Chinese industry?
If you can read this thank a Congressperson or a Senateperson.
We shouldn’t fall into the “Bush did it” trap here. Congress, whether run by Dems or the GOP, has no business telling us what light bulb we can or can’t use.
Bush went over to the dark side on global warming too, before he left office, but now more and more people are realizing it was all a scam to gain more power over us.
Raise hell with Congress over the light bulbs and we might just get this one, at least, reversed, now that global warming is being seen for what it is...a power grab.
+ 1 from here, I also have a stock pile off 75 watt size too, along with other items that may be required.;-)
Word to the wise: KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS FOR LED LIGHTS. I have had a couple ‘burn out’ or cease to function. They are not as reliable as claimed. Be sure you can get your money back.
I switched to LED for my 20 outdoor Malibu path lights a couple years ago.
Not nearly as bright as incandescent, but just adequate to light the path. I had been testing options for a few years, and switched when I could get ones that were bright enough to see were on, and for $5 each.
The biggest advantage is that they never burn out, literally so far. I was constantly replacing the incandescents (I don’t think they liked occasionally being buried in snow), which always had a few that needed replacing, and which turned their glass dark gray over time.
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