So Trump reverts filament bulb legislation...

His election and the Brexit outcome are perfect examples of the exploitation of 'action bias' in humans, that is the desire to 'do something' about a situation rather than adopt a 'wait and see' approach.

It is this bias that social media has been used to exploit by both Trump "Let's build a wall", "Make America Great Again" and the Leave campaign "Take our country back", "Taking back sovereignty" - manipulation of the masses the like that has never been seen before.

Now he and Johnson are in power they think they are unstoppable and to some extent it seems they are as they ride rough shod over common wisdom due to "people power"

 

Think it’s also readily accepted that he was voted in purely as a protest vote against the same old establishment and people wanting a change, something that can be seen around the world, yet Politicians seem to still not recognise it.

 

Some good & interesting points, but the truth is protectionism towards out dated domestic technology technology is a flawed strategy. His aim is purely political, not economic. The cost of an LED bulb will soon be paid for from saved consumption of electricity, so his argument isn't correct.

 

Kind of. But the lack of protectionism has led to vast areas of economic depression in the US. And if you have depressed areas, they can’t afford the tech that is being talked about.

However, it’s also ‘outrage’ reporting as usual..... like we get in the UK....... In 2016, 58% of standard bulbs sold in the US were energy saving bulbs. 37% were halogen, and only 5% were a traditional lightbulb. Halogen consume 30% less than a traditional bulb too. That was 3 years ago.....

As was in the UK, most folk had adopted low energy bulbs well in advance of the legislation coming in anyway. So it’s not the environmental disaster that Google makes you think it is. Yes it needs to come in eventually, and will, but it has been delayed currently.

 

Governments can protect key industries for national security reasons. Stopping China having a monopoly on steel is a prime example. To not have our own steel industry could leave us in a difficult position at a time of war, or in trade wars. The key though is to move to finding markets for high end applications for what you are producing. China's steel is obviously massively subsidised, so government help makes sense to keep our own knowledge base & production. Things like Welsh slate need to be marketed correctly. An example is Yorkstone, which is a massive success. People will pay more for a branded product. People pay more in the supermarket for French Bree, than our own locally supplied product, as it is perceived as being better. I don't get the argument re the bulbs TBH. The US government spends massive amounts on R&D, technology that is passed on to US firms, so they are a lot more interventionist than many people understand.

 

Good post.

Welsh slate is marketed, but not many want to pay the extra. Same with Chinese steel.

The headlines are misleading though - as my stats show, the US have adopted them well already. It’s only the final push they are suspending as they say it’ll hit the poorest families and businesses the hardest.

 

Not only is most of the news we receive from main steam media misleading it's downright propaganda, especially in the good old US of A.

 

It’s a very difficult thing to counter (like Brexit, arguing ‘against’ something is a lot easier than defending it)
And the ridiculous thing about Trump (and Farage and their ilk) is that they’re fuelled by ‘anti establishment’ rhetoric whilst being solidly part of the establishment.