If Congress Botches Bulbs, What Will It Do to Health Care?

Ernest Istook / October 21, 2009

Why trust Congress with health care when it messes up simple things like light bulbs?

The new mandated light bulbs don’t save as promised; produce inferior quality light; and 90% of them are made abroad. The old ones were mostly made in America. The new law has led to General Electric’s August announcement that it was shutting down incandescent bulb factories in Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia.

Light bulb researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute confirm that “A CFL can appear dimmer than expected.” It’s because the “equivalence” information on the packaging (comparing compact fluorescent lights—CFL’s—to incandescent bulbs) usually overstates significantly the amount of light they put out. (more…)