Government Spinning Up New Rules for Clothes Driers

The Heartland Institute quotes CEI's Sam Kazman on potential new efficiency rules for clothes dryers:

Competitive Enterprise Institute general counsel Sam Kazman says consumers should be trusted to decide which product features they want.

“The basic question you’ve got to ask in any proceeding like this is ‘if this new technology and standards are going to be saving people money, then why do they have to force consumers to buy them,’” he said. “There are very questionable savings, they’re not dramatic, but the real thing is… why can’t consumers be trusted to make these decisions on their own?

Kazman says efficiency regulations are not written with consumers’ best interests in mind.

“I think the end result of this all is just to reduce the energy usage period, whether consumers benefit or not in the end,” he said. “I just don’t think DOE can assess, and I don’t think they even care very much.”

Kazman says questioning the intentions behind ever-increasing efficiency regulations is unpopular, but important.

“One big problem with energy efficiency mandates is that both Republicans and Democrats tend to treat them as an apple pie-type thing that nobody can criticize ratcheting up and, so, why not make them higher and higher?

“Really, that ends up being a very stupid approach to consumer welfare,” he said.