Much-Needed Domestic Strategy!

Of COURSE there is a domestic strategy!!  It's simple:  reduce the American middle class to third-worlders.  Social Justice, and all that.  (Echoes of GWB, by the way.)

The Obama administration is working on new efficiency standards for seemingly every appliance but the kitchen sink.

Spurred by President Obama’s climate action plan, the Department of Energy is pumping out new standards for refrigerators, dishwashers, air conditioners, ceiling fans, furnaces, boilers, water heaters, lamps and many more appliances.

See?  We're from the Gummint, and we're here to he'p you!!

Or not:

...industry groups argue the standards, which will apply to both commercial and household appliances, could slow the economy, and that the Energy Department is rushing the new rules while overestimating the savings.

...Business groups say the new rules will be expensive for industry to comply with because it will require them to buy new technologies to develop appliances that emit less energy. That will raise the retail prices of household appliances, they say.  ...

Big Green has its own take:

Green groups and the Energy Department acknowledge the standards will lead to more expensive appliances but say consumers will save money in the long run on their energy bills.

Which is to say, 'let them eat cake.'

...Lower-income consumers, however, will be at a disadvantage, she said. They will have a tough time paying for the more expensive appliances, and are likely to keep using older ones....

Tough.  Wash by hand, and build a fire to cook your rice and beans, untermensch.

You recall that GWB, no stranger to Big Gummint plots, was also an enthusiast for idiocies:

Republicans played the rich-poor divide up during one of the most famous efficiency controversies: the ban on traditional incandescent light bulbs.

That episode also highlights how energy efficiency has become more of a partisan issue. The push for the new light bulbs started under President George W. Bush and initially had support from many Republicans. It then became a Tea Party rallying cry...

The ban is pushing consumers to buy more expensive light bulbs, even as they save money on their energy bills. Republicans complain this puts lower-income consumers at a disadvantage because they’ll have a tougher time paying for the more expensive bulbs.

You remember Pubbie efforts to rescind the light-bulb regs, don't you?

I don't either.