Light bulb factory closes; End of era for U.S. means more jobs overseas

Wapo ^ | 09/08/10 | Peter Whorisky

[freespirited]

WINCHESTER, VA. - The last major GE factory making ordinary incandescent light bulbs in the United States is closing this month, marking a small, sad exit for a product and company that can trace their roots to Thomas Alva Edison's innovations in the 1870s.

The remaining 200 workers at the plant here will lose their jobs.

"Now what're we going to do?" said Toby Savolainen, 49, who like many others worked for decades at the factory, making bulbs now deemed wasteful.

During the recession, political and business leaders have held out the promise that American advances, particularly in green technology, might stem the decades-long decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs. But as the lighting industry shows, even when the government pushes companies toward environmental innovations and Americans come up with them, the manufacture of the next generation technology can still end up overseas.

What made the plant here vulnerable is, in part, a 2007 energy conservation measure passed by Congress that set standards essentially banning ordinary incandescents by 2014. The law will force millions of American households to switch to more efficient bulbs.

The resulting savings in energy and greenhouse-gas emissions are expected to be immense. But the move also had unintended consequences.

Rather than setting off a boom in the U.S. manufacture of replacement lights, the leading replacement lights are compact fluorescents, or CFLs, which are made almost entirely overseas, mostly in China.

[freespirited]

President George W. Bush, long accused of ignoring the problem of climate change and opposing international efforts to develop a solution, has proposed his own strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that intensify the greenhouse effect and contribute to global warming.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. To me, talk of reducing greenhouse gas emissions implies a belief that humans play a role in this alleged environmental crisis.

[raybbr]

Bush railed against what was going on in congress re: fanny and freddie...

In 2004, during the election, F and F INCREASED their purchasing under Bush's Secretary of HUD.

[Oceander]

God but I hate CFLs - I am going to have one heck of a stockpile of incandescents before they become illegal.

Just as an aside, this case also demonstrates why large multinational businesses should be approached by republicans/ conservatives with as much care as with most liberals - why? Because GE was one of the companies that was supporting the legislation that basically makes incandescents illegal, because the company will earn more (on a global basis) manufacturing CFLs than the old-style incandescents. Large multinationals are prone to using their size, and their ability to corrupt vainglorious politicians - usually of the liberal/neo-fascist stripe - to obtain rent-seeking opportunities through government regulation that they can profit from.

[samtheman]

Good post, RinaseaofDs.

[UCFRoadWarrior]

Most Free Trader Globalists are also pushers of the Global Warming Hoax (Al Gore, et al)...so it would not be surprising that an incandescent light bulb factory in the USA will be closed so that a foreign country can build the politically correct light bulbs.

The biggest pushers of the Global Warming Hoax are also pushers of Free Trade Globalism

[freespirited]

Didn't Bush sign the bill?

Yeppers.

[UCFRoadWarrior]

I’m reminded of one person who many on here hate. His name is Ross Perot. He said “There’s one deficit nobody wants to talk about. And that’s the trade deficit.” Guess they still don’t want to talk about it.

---

And....the ones who so bash Perot...are the same ones who support Al Gore on Free Trade. Who can ever forget the Larry King NAFTA debates....with Al Gore pushing NAFTA...and all the Free Traders calling Perot “nuts”

Al Gore got a double win here....Free Trade shipping jobs to Communist China...and...pushing his environmental agenda

[Stayfree]

Congress recycles more waste than anybody........

[Jack Hydrazine]

Manufacturing is the key to wealth creation for any nation. The USA has been exporting its manufacturing overseas since the end WWII with the rise government sprawl (bureaucrats and their onerous regs) along with confiscatory taxes. During this time numerous accounting tricks have been used to give the appearance that America is still a wealthy nation while its wealth has been drained dry both in monetary terms as well as spiritual terms.

[Lady Jag]

Big thanks to MamaDearest and LucyT for finding the article “The danger of compact fluorescent lighting” ( http://pathwithpaws.com/blog/2009/02/21/the-danger-of-compact-fluorescent-lighting/ )

There is no sane reason to ban traditional incandescent bulbs at all, never mind in favor of CFL or Flourescent lighting.

Read the link.

[Jack Hydrazine]

“Time to Lay Off the District of Corruption.”

AKA the District of Criminals.

[goldendays]

more money for China
(environmental rules give China 97% rare earth mineral)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2584107/posts

[Frantzie]

They were 100% behind it. Incandescent bulbs sell for as little as 25 cents each. The mercury filled flourescents sell for as little as $1.00 to as much as $6 each. Made in China and will probably cost 10 cents to make.

[Frantzie]

LOL! I recall going to hotel rooms with them and it is really creepy and depressing. I felt like I was in a garage or warehouse.

They finally have some with a different frequency so they have have warmer colors. They still suck.

[Lady Jag]

I bought a couple and they were too long for most of the fixtures.

The light color from CFLs makes everything look sickly.

What's going to happen to film makers and photographers’ lighting? CFLs won't do it.

These laws can't be that stupid. Otherwise they are planned distractions from more significant happenings.

[Hoodat]

2008 Election Results

City of Winchester
------------------

Obama - 52%
McCain - 47%

What did they expect?

[FlingWingFlyer]

Woot! The commie lib way of putting people back to work. They never said that they were talking about Americans. They said, “people”. We’ve got a Child of the Globe running the country now!

[ScreamingFist]

“LEDs are only viable commercially, and in select industries. It’ll be years until they hit the home market.”

Right. I saw amazing LED chandeliers in Europe 20 years ago. Forget the darn incandescent bulbs.....looky.....

http://www.lightinguniverse.com/chandeliers_89.html?option3=Voltage=1000010~12+Volt

[ScreamingFist]

Should have said 12 volt chandeliers, but LED’s are cool too....;)

[kearnyirish2]

I’d imagine if it is a “city”, most of the workers live in the area around it and in some pockets within the city limits, and the public housing where the McCain supporters house, feed, and clothe the Obama supporters are completely within the limits. I doubt anyone working at the plant and paying taxes really thought the Kenyan Pirate (who as all things to all people, was openly an environmentalist as well) was going to help them. Sort of like Al Gore losing West Virginia, Tennessee, etc.; coal country doesn’t vote for environmental activists.