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Energy Star Program Certifies 15 Out of 20 Bogus Products
longacre writes "A Gasoline-Powered Alarm Clock was among 15 bogus products granted the coveted Energy Star seal of approval by the US Environmental Protection Agency during a secret evaluation conducted by the Government Accountability Office. In addition, four fictional manufacturers run by fake people and marketed with crummy websites — Cool Rapport (HVAC equipment), Futurizon Solar Innovations (lighting), Spartan Digital Electronics, and Tropical Thunder Appliances — were granted Energy Star partnerships. The root of the problem: Manufacturers need only submit photos and not actual examples of their products, and they submit their own efficiency ratings, which are not independently verified by the EPA."
HA HA HA HA HA!!!
The AMOUNT of scrutiny? You mean those people that get paid by the hour to pretend like they know what they are talking about? Just because you get slammed with endless over sight and it takes often dozens of people to sign off on something before anything gets done only makes it very expensive, not improve quality or efficiency. In any business you get 0, 1 or 2 of 3 things: Good, Fast, Cheap. I will give credit to our military: their toys are really really good, but at the same time much of that technology comes from private industry, but paid for with tax dollars, so effectively the same thing. Halliburton is amazing as the good and fast thing, like when someone has a need for a refugee camp with food, water, and shelter some random place in the world for 10,000 people, and we need it tomorrow... Well considering that Halliburton is the only company that provides that type of service, not much to compare it to. Does no competition due to lack of capital qualify as cheap? anyway...
Government is "amazing" in many respects. Good managers of our money? Hmm... I don't think so. And those are just the nice things I can say.
Efficiency is consumer choice. They either buy it because you did something right, or they do not, and in any way that is a fallacious argument the case for government is far worse. If you are Nolan's definition of a Statist such that the governments goal is to self empower with no greater purpose than itself, then yeah, I concede government is quite efficient. Just look at the progressiveness of the Wilson administration.
Want Big Business out of government? Take away the incentive and start by getting government out of big business!
People need to fix this not think government is something to throw away. The power of government can be turned to benefit its people.
It might actually be easier to throw away this government and create another one than to try to fix everything that's wrong with this one. But since enough of us can't even agree what goes on the "wrong" list to do anything concerted, our corporate masters will continue boning us.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"