Light Bulbs Not Such A Bright Idea

Remember the ban on incandescent light bulbs?  Yeah, you know, those light bulbs that cost about $0.23 each, last for months, and can be thrown into the trash when they burn out?  The Democrats set in motion a process to ban those light bulbs by 2012, replacing them with bulbs that cost over $4.00 each, last for months, and have a special disposition process due to the mercury contained in them (and if one breaks in your house? one word: hazmat).  The idea was that these new light bulbs would last so much longer that they would eventually pay for themselves, so we should all switch for the good of mankind.  There's just one small problem with that (okay, there's more than one, but I'll just point out one for the moment):  they don't last very long.  Excerpts:

It sounds like such a simple thing to do: buy some new light bulbs, screw them in, save the planet.

But a lot of people these days are finding the new compact fluorescent bulbs anything but simple. Consumers who are trying them say they sometimes fail to work, or wear out early. At best, people discover that using the bulbs requires learning a long list of dos and don'ts.

Take the case of Karen Zuercher and her husband, in San Francisco. Inspired by watching the movie "An Inconvenient Truth," they decided to swap out nearly every incandescent bulb in their home for energy-saving compact fluorescents. Instead of having a satisfying green moment, however, they wound up coping with a mess.

"Here's my sad collection of bulbs that didn't work," Ms. Zuercher said the other day as she pulled a cardboard box containing defunct bulbs from her laundry shelf.

One of the 16 Feit Electric bulbs the Zuerchers bought at Costco did not work at all, they said, and three others died within hours. The bulbs were supposed to burn for 10,000 hours, meaning they should have lasted for years in normal use. "It's irritating," Ms. Zuercher said.

Irritation seems to be rising as more consumers try compact fluorescent bulbs, which now occupy 11 percent of the nation's eligible sockets, with 330 million bulbs sold every year. Consumers are posting vociferous complaints on the Internet after trying the bulbs and finding them lacking.

Bulb makers and promoters say the overall quality of today's compact fluorescents is high. But they also concede that it is difficult to prevent some problem bulbs from slipping through.

Some experts who study the issue blame the government for the quality problems, saying an intensive federal push to lower the price essentially backfired by encouraging manufacturers to use cheap components.

"In the pursuit of the holy grail, we stepped on the consumer," said Michael Siminovitch, director of a lighting center at the University of California, Davis.

The government, which will begin enforcing tighter specifications this year, says it must seek a balance between quality and affordability to achieve its goal of getting millions of additional consumers to install the bulbs.

"We're both college-educated and pay attention to labels we read," Ms. Zuercher said. "It feels like someone forgot to put a place to find the information."

 

But hey, never mind reality - let's mandate their use, anyway!  That's what government does, after all.

Rush Limbaugh had a brilliant idea on his program today: substitute 'light bulb' for any other government service to get an idea of what it will be like once Obama nationalizes it.  For example:

[A] lot of people these days are finding the new universal health care anything but simple. Consumers who are using it say they sometimes fail to get treatments in a timely manner. At best, people discover that using the system requires learning a long list of dos and don'ts.

Health care providers say the overall quality of today's medical care is high. But they also concede that it is difficult to prevent some patients from slipping through the cracks.

Some experts who study the issue blame the government for the quality problems, saying an intensive federal push to lower the price essentially backfired by encouraging manufacturers to use cheap components.  The government, which will begin enforcing tighter restrictions this year, says it must seek a balance between quality and affordability to achieve its goal of getting millions of additional consumers to use the universal coverage.

Give it a try with some others.  It's pretty scary how easily it translates into many other issues.

This is yet another boondoggle of unintended consequences courtesy of the United States Congress.  Fortunately, they still have time to fix their mistake on this one.  Call me a skeptic, but somehow I doubt they will.

There's my two cents.