Author: R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D
In a prior article I mentioned how federal government agencies are taking away your freedoms by unnecessary and tyrannical regulations. The situation is about to get much worse as revealed in a recent article in The Epoch Times, a national newspaper that I strongly recommend for truthful news.
The effort by the EPA, (Environmental Protection Agency) to outlaw gas stoves is being followed by similar proposed draconian regulations by the DOE (Department of Energy). This time it is your household appliances they are after. The regulations will require substantial increases in efficiency ratings by cutting energy and water consumption by one-third, which can only be met, according to manufacturers, by reducing the size of the units (e.g. washing machines/dryers) and adding technology that will increase the cost by an average of $200 per unit. Shortages and decreased reliability can also be expected. Like most government schemes, you pay more but get less. By the way, top loading units will no longer be available. Other items like micro-waves, water heaters, air conditioners, and etc. will be similarly impacted. Manufacturers estimate that the availability of lower cost appliances will be the most impacted.
The EPA and DOE are also teaming up to implement vehicle emission standards that gas powered vehicles will not be able to meet, resulting in increased reliance on expensive, unreliable electric vehicles. Which is, of course, exactly what the Biden administration and the environmental fanatics have always wanted. The average EV costs $20,000 more than a similarly sized gas powered vehicle without the weight carrying ability or the range. What the EV advocates who tell you that EVs can go up to 300 miles without a charge don’t tell you, is that this can only happen when there are no passengers, no luggage or air-conditioner running. Importantly, the value of an EV drops dramatically when the batteries approach the end of their life cycle since they are so expensive to replace. Get ready to have your freedom to travel greatly restricted; also where you can live.
Is this the direct result of the Biden administration? You bet it is. In December 2022, the White House bragged about creating 110 new regulations that would impact the appliance and vehicle manufacturing industries. The environmental fanatics are getting everything they want from the Biden administration, and you, the average citizen taxpayer are going to get everything you do not want. It is not enough for the Marxist Democrats to allow technology to advance and have people exercise their inherent freedom to choose what they decide to buy; they want to tell you what you shall be allowed to purchase since they know what is best. What ever happened to our property rights as guaranteed in the Constitution? Show me where the Constitution gives the federal government, control over what we purchase. They can’t, because it doesn’t.
There is a glimmer of hope. The Republican controlled U.S House of Representatives is reportedly working on a bill that would require federal agencies to have proposed regulations approved by the House prior to implementation. This is long overdue and is only likely to be enacted when Republicans control the Senate and the White House; making the elections in 2024 even more critical to our freedoms.