California Saves Us from TV

California appears poised to be first to ban power-guzzling big-screen TVs

The payoff could be big for TV owners, said Ken Rider, a commission staff engineer. Average first-year savings from reduced electricity use would be an estimated $30 per set and $912 million statewide, he said.

So you see, not having a choice to buy an energy-inefficient TV is actually a Good Thing.

You might suggest that the energy-efficiency of a TV is a feature with a particular market value;   Maybe some people would pay a little more for TV up front in order to get a savings in the long-term by reduced power consumption.  But if you think this way, you would be a moron by California's standards.  That's because everyone knows that markets don't function by assigning a monetary value to product features.  The government is supposed to dictate the standards so that no choices are required of consumers, who are all naturally stupid.

By the way, at $30 per set, $912M savings implies 30.4 million new TVs.  Assume there are 30.4 million new TV screens replacing energy-hogging older screens in the first year.   And to get to that figure, you must exclude people who are replacing displays already considered "energy efficient".    The population being somewhere around 37 million people, that's one new TV purchased for 8 out of every 10 Californians (including both adults and children).  Seems a bit of a stretch.  How often do you buy a large screen TV?