Light Bulb Labyrinthine

Light Bulb Ban Set to Take Effect
December 13, 2013
By Steve Hargreaves
CNNMoney


Light Bulb Labyrinthine

"Light bulb manufacturers will cease making traditional 40 and 60-watt light bulbs-the most popular in the country-at the start of 2014."

In the place of these light bulbs halogen light bulbs, compact, fluorescent bulbs, LED bulbs, and high efficiency incandescents which are all regular incandescents with filament wrapped in gas. Although all of these lightbulbs offer more savings in the long run and offer significantly more energy, these new lightbulbs are more expensive than the traditional light bulbs. 

This change is predicted to anger consumers already faced with economic problems. Also, this is said to irritate the tea party activists sine the ban is the result of the final phase of government-mandated efficiency standards.

The rules were signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2007. "They are designed to address gross inefficiencies with old light bulbs -- only 10% of the energy they use is converted into light, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which has a handy fact sheet about the changes." 

Much arousal has raised from the libertarians and conservatives who disapprove of the government telling people what light bulbs they can and cannot use. These people argue that if the new ones really work so well, people will buy them on their own without being forced to do so. 

Although the Republicans tried to overturn the law, they failed. Congress prevented the Department of Energy from spending money to enforce the new rules. 

However, old lightbulb makers have no plans of making their old bulbs after the start of the new year and plan to abide by the new laws. 

"We haven't seen any problems with respect to compliance," said Kyle Pitsor, vice president for government relations at the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, which represents 95% of all light bulb makers in the United States.

The manufacturers association are in favor of the new rules on light bulbs, arguing that they headed off a patchwork of pending state laws that would have made the business highly complicated. 

While people were initially concerned with these new light bulb bans, Pitsor said most of the concerns faded away as people become more familiar with the new light bulbs and realize they can still buy high efficiency incandescents.  

The high efficiency incandescents cost about $1.50 each, compared to 50 cents or so for the old bulbs. But they last twice as long, and use 28% less power.

With LEDs, the saving are even greater. While a 40-watt LED goes for about $7.50 -- a big drop from the $50 or so it cost just a few years back -- it uses 85% less energy than a traditional bulb. 

Over the course of the year, a LED will consume about $2 in power under normal circumstances, said Mark Voykovik, national light bulb merchant for Home Depot. That compares to over $7 for an incandescent. 

"In two years, you pay off that bulb," said Voykovik. And because LED bulbs are expected to last at least 20 years -- it's all savings for the next 18 years. 

Moreover, LEDs are free from many of the issues that plagued compact fluorescent bulbs. They turn on instantly, do not contain mercury and give off a warm light similar to an incandescent.

Bewildering Benefits ?

"White house: Extend Jobless Benefits"

December 5, 2013

By Jennifer Liberto

CNN

"Bewildering Benefits"

Currently, President Obama is obsessed with trying to convince Congress to extend federal unemployment benefits by another year, and Republicans claim that they are willing to consider. "Benefits for 1.3 million workers will expire December 28 if Congress fails to extend a recession-era program by the end of this month." A report was issued by the White House Council of Economic Advisers and Department of Labor, touting how jobless benefits "buoy the economy" while simultaneously keeping 2.5 million workers poverty-less each and every year. 

Thousands upon thousands would be affected by this decision, as many families would be harmed due to the millions of workers and their families that are unemployed. President Obama started using his bully pulpit this week to put more pressure on Congress to extend the program. "Christmas-time is no time for Congress to tell more than 1 million of these Americans that they have lost this unemployment insurance," Obama said in a speech on Wednesday. "(That's) what will happen if Congress does not act before they leave on their holiday vacation." 

The White House says that if these benefits do expire, the United States Gross Domestic Product could fall next year by 0.2 to 0.4 of a percentage point, according to the Congressional Budget Office and a J.P. Morgan Chase economist. This report also implies that the economy, currently, is not strong enough to end benefits. However, Republicans have been open to the idea of extending benefits, saying in memos that the program has already cost 252 billion dollars through July. But, the House Speaker, John Boehner, suggested he was open to an extension of the new idea and stated, "If the President has a plan for extending unemployment, I'll take a look at it." 

President George W. Bush first signed the program into law in June 2008, when the unemployment rate was 5.6% and the average duration of jobless insurance was 17.1 weeks. Since then, the unemployment rate has risen more than ten percent (2009) and the government extended the federal benefits to jobless Americans whose state unemployment insurance had run out. Currently, the unemployment rate is at 7.3 percent and the average duration of the benefits is 36.1 weeks. The Federal unemployment insurance benefits are tangible only after a person's state benefits run out. The range of the amount of time that that takes is between 14 and 47 weeks, depending on the state the person lives in.Only residents in Nevada and Illinois have access to the maximum 47 weeks, according to the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group. Most states have cut back unemployment benefits, as the improved “As lawmakers prepare to head home to be with their families during the holiday recess, they must not turn their backs on millions of families struggling with long-term unemployment and a weak labor market," said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project in a statement.