When Congress voted for the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, they failed to recognize the unintended consequences of mandating Americans to buy compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for their homes and businesses.
Among the first to be hurt by the government's mandate were American workers, who are now unemployed, because the factories that were once used to make incandescent light bulbs are now closed.In October 2010, General Electric (GE) closed its last incandescent light bulb factory in Winchester, Virginia, because the legislation that Congress passed in 2007 phases out and bans traditional light bulbs by 2015.
GE told its employees that because it would be too expensive to retrofit its U.S. factories to make the labor-intensive CFLs and LEDs, the company had to lay off its American employees and move its factories to China and Mexico. (Workers at the Winchester factory offered to take cuts in pay and benefits if they could keep their jobs, but GE declined that offer.)
