Video: An ode to the incandescent light bulb

Reason.tv’s musical maestro Remy yesterday released this spoof of Puff Daddy’s 1997 tribute to the Notorious B.I.G. Filling in for B.I.G.: the incandescent light bulb, which Remy expects to miss terribly as soon as the federal government’s ban on the bulb takes complete effect in January.

So do I, Remy, so do I.

Countdown to the effective date of the phaseout: T-29 days. Stockpile ‘em now while you can. Maybe, as Fox anchor John Stossel suggested in a recent statement, the light bulb ban seems unimportant because it’s a “small” overreach. But I’d argue the very smallness and specificity of the ban is what makes it so potently representative of the worst excesses of the federal government. Nothing is so small or so personal as to go unregulated by an ever-expanding, avaricious administrative state. The government won’t even scruple to stay out of our homes, which are our personal dominions, our castles.

The key, not-to-be-forgotten takeaways of the ban: (1) Don’t trust any ol’ Republican to automatically and invariably stand for smaller government. I’m a G.W. fan, but the guy signed this ban into law. No excuse for it. And not even the present Republican-controlled House managed to pass a repeal bill. (2) Unintended consequences are a virtual given of legislation composed by non-experts. The law seeks to replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents — but, when a CFL breaks, mercury meets air … and the cleanup procedure is anything but uncomplicated. (3) As Remy sings, “If that new light bulb is so amazing, then why don’t people just go buy that light bulb?”

That last is the real point: At heart, this is about personal choice and freedom, the essence of the American Dream. Either the representatives we elect trust us to know what’s best for us or they don’t. If they don’t, we need to elect different representatives.

Related Posts:

• Reminder: That incandescent light bulb ban was not a good idea
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• Should it be illegal to unlock your own cellphone?

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