Opus 2016-92: The New Dark Ages

Why does every new lamp I see say that you should not use more than a 60 watt bulb?  It gets frustrating because my old eyes need more light than 60 watts can give me.

For those too young to remember 100 watt bulbs used to be common.  It was bright enough to see by.  We could read.  We could work with small parts in confined spaces.  It worked.  What has changed?  Why is it suddenly necessary to get by with 40% less light?

Are they suddenly making lamps weaker?  Do the cheaper materials decompose if they get too hot?  I have a floor lamp that is probably as old as I am and it is still working just fine.  Do new ones fall apart because the metal melts at 100 watts?  Are they using cheaper wire that won’t bear the load?  Is it because they are made in China and the Communists like to keep people in the dark?

Is it a marketing ploy to sell more lightbulbs?  Instead of one you now need two and they still wear out and need to be replaced.  If all else is equal you make a killing just by putting a little label on all the lamps.  Remember the shampoo company that doubled their sales by adding the little word, “repeat” to the directions on how to wash your hair.

Is it an environmentalist ploy?  Is it another example of socialist thinking that if we use 60 watts instead of 100 we will save a lot of trees?  Don’t they realize that people still need to see and if you can’t see with one 60 you will go with two.  Of course they might pass legislation to put people in jail who work under two lamps instead of one.

Which makes me wonder if crony capitalism is again at work.  Is this another example of why you can’t trust the government.  Is it the nanny state, for our own good, trying to make sure that our homes don’t burn down because we used a 100 watt bulb?  Does the fact that it serves the purposes of other special interests who make donations to their campaigns have anything to do with it? 

Why?

homo unius libri