$50 light bulbs

Originally posted by whodey
You could try banning me.

Why would anyone do that? No one wants to silence you, as far as I know. But you do post so prolifically. So it's quite reasonable for others in the community to urge you to exercise a bit more quality control.

Originally posted by FMF
Why would anyone do that? No one wants to silence you, as far as I know. But you do post so prolifically. So it's quite reasonable for others in the community to urge you to exercise a bit more quality control.

It would be for the collective good of the RHP members. By banning me you could reduce the pollutants on this site.

Originally posted by whodey
It would be for the collective good of the RHP members. By banning me you could reduce the pollutants on this site.

Don't let em get to you.

Originally posted by whodey
The US federal government has assumed the role as energy policeman. You are correct in that many other governments are doing the same. So the question begs, is this the role of government? What is next? After all, assuming the role of energy policeman has no bounds. They will tell you what cars you can drive and what houses you can sell and buy and what ...[text shortened]... be hell to pay via the feds!! In fact, is it still legal to criticize them like this? 😳

The light bulb conspiracy is odd, although think of the gov't mandating better pollution and mileage standards which force industry changes. Darn, if I'm drawing a blank but that has to be a large number of times that a gov't control of something manufactured turned out well.

How about the gov't forcing cable TV transmission changes, hell they made an old TV I had obsolete over night.

Where we trotally screwed up is allowing China to dominante the market.

Originally posted by badmoon
[Where we trotally screwed up is allowing China to dominante the market.[/b]

Speaking of China, check this out.

http://www.businessinsider.com/ge-ships-light-bulb-jobs-to-china-so-it-can-make-greener-bulbs-2009-8

Apparently, GE was intstrumental in lobbying the government to outlaw incandescent light bulbs in favor of compact fluorescent bulbs. Now they will close down their factories in the US and move to China. At the old factory in Virgina where people have lost their jobs, they joke about GE making better bulbs for the environment when the new ones are full of mercury to poison the environment. In addition, at one of the new plants in China it appears that some of the workers have succumb to mercury poinoning. Go figure.

We all know that GE has been in bed with the current administration, but then, its OK so long as its not a "big oil" company, right?

What can I say, just foooollow the money baby!!!

Originally posted by whodey
Apparently, GE was intstrumental in lobbying the government to outlaw incandescent light bulbs in favor of compact fluorescent bulbs.

What can I say, just foooollow the money baby!!!

What you really should be arguing about is not whether government regulation is good / bad but the system you have in the US where instead of government regulation being for the good of the people, it is based on which industry spends the most on lobbyists.
I suppose that if you cannot think of an alternative system, then you might argue that it is best to avoid regulation altogether.

Originally posted by twhitehead
What you really should be arguing about is not whether government regulation is good / bad but the system you have in the US where instead of government regulation being for the good of the people, it is based on which industry spends the most on lobbyists.
I suppose that if you cannot think of an alternative system, then you might argue that it is best to avoid regulation altogether.

You're onto it, get the gummint out of the economy, then the big companies couldn't buy support, all this hullabaloo about trying to limit campaign spending or limiting campaign donations or taxing donations would be in the wind.

"When buying and selling are controlled by legislation the first to be bought and sold are the legislators."

Another scorcher that goes right to the heart and hit's the nail on the head from P J O'Rourke

Originally posted by whodey
The US federal government has assumed the role as energy policeman. You are correct in that many other governments are doing the same. So the question begs, is this the role of government? What is next? After all, assuming the role of energy policeman has no bounds. They will tell you what cars you can drive and what houses you can sell and buy and what ...[text shortened]... be hell to pay via the feds!! In fact, is it still legal to criticize them like this? 😳

"After all, assuming the role of energy policeman has no bounds."

Yes, because the "slippery slope" argument applies to literally everything.

"They will tell you what cars you can drive"

Yes, just imagine if the big guvamint began setting minimum effeciency requirements for cars. Oh, wait. That already happened decades ago.

"and what houses you can sell and buy"

Yes, just imagine if houses were required to meet health and safety standards in their design. Oh, wait!

I could go on, but the point has been made. Whodey, you're already living in the apocalypse.

BTW, Whodey. It doesn't bother you that the "article" you posted blatantly lied to you? You will not.... NOT be required to buy a $50 light bulb.

I mean, if I read some crap on the internet that deliberately deceived me I would angry. You're not even mad that you got suckered?

Originally posted by Wajoma
You're onto it, get the gummint out of the economy, then the big companies couldn't buy support, all this hullabaloo about trying to limit campaign spending or limiting campaign donations or taxing donations would be in the wind.

That makes no sense to me. If you get the government out of the economy then you make it even easier for big companies to do whatever they want. Or is that what you are saying: let big companies do what they like and keep government and politics about something else?

Originally posted by twhitehead
That makes no sense to me. If you get the government out of the economy then you make it even easier for big companies to do whatever they want. Or is that what you are saying: let big companies do what they like and keep government and politics about something else?

That's right. It would be the cure for all these huge campaign donations, whether done openly or the back room deals, take away some of the pollies power which they have been selling to the highest bidder.

Originally posted by Wajoma
That's right. It would be the cure for all these huge campaign donations, whether done openly or the back room deals, take away some of the pollies power which they have been selling to the highest bidder.

Outlawing campaign donations by corporations is not that hard.

Originally posted by Wajoma
That's right. It would be the cure for all these huge campaign donations, whether done openly or the back room deals, take away some of the pollies power which they have been selling to the highest bidder.

So, essentially let companies do whatever they like, pollute as much as they want, forget about safety rules, allow monopolies, price fixing etc, forget about 'job creation', protectionism etc.
And all this because you have some gripe about campaign donations?

How much is big business paying you to say this?

Originally posted by twhitehead
So, essentially let companies do whatever they like, pollute as much as they want, forget about safety rules, allow monopolies, price fixing etc, forget about 'job creation', protectionism etc.
And all this because you have some gripe about campaign donations?

How much is big business paying you to say this?

Actually, Wajoma wants to forbid all forms of pollution by government decree.

Originally posted by twhitehead
So, essentially let companies do whatever they like, pollute as much as they want, forget about safety rules, allow monopolies, price fixing etc, forget about 'job creation', protectionism etc.
And all this because you have some gripe about campaign donations?

How much is big business paying you to say this?

No I don't have a gripe about campaign donations, I have a gripe about what those campaign donations buy. Do you see the difference?