Dirty, Dirty Laundry
More than most of us, politicians need to clean dirty laundry. So it’s poetic (or perhaps just vaudevillian) justice that they’re now stuck with washing machines that don’t do so.
Alas, so are we.
During the Clinton administration, the Department of Energy issued new rules about washing machines. Why? After all, in the market, if a washing machine company doesn’t make good washing machines, they’ll lose customers to another washing machine company. No need for the government to intervene.
Ah, but that isn’t the point of the regulations, just now taking effect. The point is to “conserve energy,” like those government-mandated low-flush toilets you have to flush a couple hundred times. Surprise, the new washing machines complying with the regulations don’t clean as well as older models, according to Consumer Reports.
Hmmmm. Wearing dirty clothes saves energy. An idea our mothers would never have suggested. And now the Senate is considering a bill to make these so-called “efficiency” standards even tougher, on washing machines and other appliances.
In response, the Competitive Enterprise Institute has launched a “Send Your Underwear to the Undersecretary” campaign, complete with YouTube video. The lucky beneficiary of the protest is Acting Undersecretary of Energy Dennis Spurgeon. There’s more info about the campaign at CEI.org.
You have to admit it’s an inspired way to expose the politicians and their deliberately dirty laundry.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
