NH State Rep Leigh Webb (D): “The role of government is to legislate behavior“
Yep, not satisfied with dealing with ISIS, the national debt, the overrunning of our Southern Border, the crisis in Gaza and Hamas, the Taliban in Afghanistan, homegrown Muslim terrorists (yes, the Minneapolis based Somalis going to wage jihad in Iraq / Syria), the EPA arbitrarily killing off the coal industry, taking away of the Right to Private Property, Justice doing its own part to kill off other industries they don’t likel, Russia in the Crimea, Russia in Ukraine, Boko Haram in Nigeria, China making noises against both Japan and the Philippines, the Norks lobbing rockets again, and yes, school kids dumping their lunches into the trash…oh heck, you know the rest.
No, none of these are as important to Progressive President Obama and his cohort of commies totalitarians that KNOW we just can’t do the right thing in using energy and prove that they don ‘t believe in Individual Choice and the power of the Marketplace. They truly believe that only those in government (elected, appointed, or hired) have any idea of how an adult should act or spend their money. Can’t allow people to make “bad” choices, can we? Reformatted and emphasis mine:
The Obama administration is working on new efficiency standards for seemingly every appliance but the kitchen sink.
Spurred by President Obama’s climate action plan, the Department of Energy is pumping out new standards for refrigerators, dishwashers, air conditioners, ceiling fans, furnaces, boilers, water heaters, lamps and many more appliances. The administration says the standards will not only help the planet but also stimulate the economy by saving consumers money on their energy bills that they can spend elsewhere.But industry groups argue the standards, which will apply to both commercial and household appliances, could slow the economy, and that the Energy Department is rushing the new rules while overestimating the savings. Other critics argue the push to regulate household appliances is evidence of a nanny state.
Again, this is THE major problem with the Federal Government and the blind side of Progressivism:
- Once started, a bureaucracy never stops in going further and further in self-justifying its actions
- That treating other adults by making them look like clods and inserting themselves into other lives under the rubric of “We’re only trying to help” IS the other face of Totalitarianism.
Most Americans only believe that Totalitarianism has only one form – that which is at the end of a gun. Truth is, there are many and this one, death by a thousand, is more insidious as it can totally encapture an entire populace before they know it. And is harder to fight as few politicians are willing to stand against it as most people don’t understand its danger to their Freedoms and their way of life. Especially when they are told, over and over, “it will keep you safe”. It fundamentally transforms people via the “safe and secure” vs “freedom (to fail, even!)” dichotomy. Few realize what Freedom truly is nowadays, so who doesn’t want to be safe in that white, silky, cottony cocoon that they wish to wrap around you – where you are no longer on the outside.
“They’re not taking the time to get it right,” said Steve Yurek, president and CEO of the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute. “That’s what we’re concerned about,” he said.
As evidence of the rush, critics point to how the Energy Department has already finalized new efficiency standards for seven appliances in 2014, with another three rules expected by the end of the year. That compares to two rules in 2013 and three in 2012. The department says the rules will save consumers $49 billion by 2030. A handful of efficiency standards for other appliances also have been proposed, but won’t be completed until after this year. The rules will affect nearly every household in the country. “We all have a microwave or a refrigerator or a dishwasher, so these rules do affect basically every American household,” said Sofie Miller, a researcher at The George Washington University’s Regulatory Studies Center.
Business groups say the new rules will be expensive for industry to comply with because it will require them to buy new technologies to develop appliances that emit less energy. That will raise the retail prices of household appliances, they say. “There are a lot of folks in the business community who don’t believe the benefits are as good as the Energy Department says they will be and that the agency is using flawed data to tip the scales in favor of more stringent regulations,” said Jon Melchi, director of government affairs for Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International. Green groups and the Energy Department acknowledge the standards will lead to more expensive appliances but say consumers will save money in the long run on their energy bills.
I remember a young single lady with a young child that was barely getting by and she said the truest thing I’ve ever heard against government’s meddling when I told her that she could no longer buy an ordinary incandescent lightbulb that costs 30 cents:
“I’m not making it now – and they expect me to buy a $50 LED light???”
I told her “the government says it is good for you as you will save money in the long run; she was not impressed. She said “If I can’t buy a light bulb and I can’t afford an LED, I’ll save lots of money by sitting in the dark.” Thanks, Nanny.
“This can be a nice opportunity to save consumers money,” said Kathleen Hogan, deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency at the DOE. Miller suggests that both sides could be right. She said the new efficiency standards will save wealthy consumers money in the long run, because they can afford to pay the higher costs for new household appliances.
Really? That’s a pretty broad statement and a pretty uncaring one as well – they, along with Obama, seem to think that just saying something is so makes it so.
Lower-income consumers, however, will be at a disadvantage, she said. They will have a tough time paying for the more expensive appliances, and are likely to keep using older ones. She also said that could defeat the environmental reasons for pushing the new rules. “If you can’t afford a dishwasher, you’re stuck washing your dishes by hand,” Miller said, “which actually uses more water.”
Well, gee- willikers; a gaffe of a momentary truth telling which totally validates my anecdote. What is not mentioned, however, is that the DOE’s analysis here fails to mention one thing: the price of electricity is skyrocketing as their sister agency (the EPA) is forcing low cost electrical generating plants out of commission. Less plants, less supply is creating not only shortages but also making a commodity much more expensive.
So, how does that affect the calculus of consumers pocketbooks when the Enviros that have wormed their way into Government has forced up the price of both the appliances and the energy that drives them? How does that “save” anyone except the Enviros religious outlook of “saving” the planet?
Oh yeah, this – on the umpteenth time that Obama is going to concentrate on the economy:
The Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute is challenging the later two rules in federal court. Yurek argues the rules could force as much as 40 percent of the industry out of business. “The Energy Department is pushing as high as they can, and sometimes even higher than they should be in setting these efficiency standards,” Yurek said.
Yeah, that will help the economy – just regulate yet another industry out of existence. But ya know, guess how many people it will take to make one of your great-grandma’s old washtub scrubbers? No more “throw it in and turn it on” for you!
Freedom = the number of choices I can make freely and without coercion. Totalitarianism is when that choice is taken away from me by somebody else. Totalitarianism is also when I take back that choice from them – and then they come after me for doing so.
