Not Such a Bright Idea

Within the next couple of years, if the light-bulb bill isn’t repealed, it is going to prove to be 'extremely' unpopular.

RALEIGH (By John Hood, Carolina Journal Online) – Is there anything so outrageous, and so perfect an example of regulatory overreach, as the 2007 federal legislation that tells Americans which light bulbs they are allowed to purchase for home use?

U.S. Rep. Howard Coble doesn’t think so. The Greensboro Republican is a sponsor of a bill to repeal the federal law, which set up a timetable to phase out the sale of inexpensive incandescent light bulbs beginning in 2012. After that date, consumers will only be allowed to purchase more-expensive incandescent bulbs or those horrible compact fluorescent bulbs.

The busybodies who fashioned the 2007 legislation argued that consumers will save money in the long run because the most-expensive bulbs will reduce energy bills. If true, why did they need to dictate it? Americans can figure these things out for ourselves. We don’t need the federal government to do our math for us.