One New Hampshire man is not letting the Biden administration's green agenda ravage his collection of nearly 5,000 incandescent light bulbs.
Collector Kevin Szmyd joined "The Bottom Line" to share the story behind his 75-year supply of light bulbs, which could cost him more than $2.6 million in fines if he were to sell them all.
"I'm planning on using them," Szmyd said late last week. "Even if the Energy Department did get my $2.6 million, I'm pretty sure it would just go to waste anyways."
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The federal government’s ban on incandescent light bulbs took effect this past August, more than a decade and a half after such a rule was first proposed intending to promote energy efficiency.
A federal regulation to ban incandescent light bulbs was initially issued in 2007 following the enactment of the Energy Independence and Security Act during the Bush administration. Implementation of the ban was delayed from its initial date of 2012, then the rule was broadened during the Obama administration before it was reversed by the Trump administration.
Szmyd is not alone in his frustration with the new policy. The collector explained he has received several inquiries from people asking for a piece of his one-of-a-kind stockpile.
"I have actually gotten some comments of people asking for light bulbs. They say, 'Oh, I don't like the yellow filaments in the new LEDs' or, you know, 'I just don't like the glow of the new LEDs in comparison to the incandescents.' I've only really given out a couple though. I would say most of the interest I have received has been polite rather than legitimately inquisitive," he explained.
When the Biden administration announced the ban, Szmyd utilized online resources like Craigslist, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace to find as many incandescent light bulbs as he could.
"I reached out to most people selling bulbs within around 250 miles, and most people were just happy to hand them over. A lot of people, they just wanted to switch over to LEDs, and were trying to get rid of their own stock. So, I took advantage of that and as a result, I managed to get excellent prices on all these," he continued.
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Co-host Sean Duffy weighed in, arguing that our government should allow consumers to choose the products that work for them at the price they want, rather than instituting a ban.
Szmyd bolstered Duffy's claim, positing, "Isn't that what America is all about? Being able to choose for myself?"
"What other country on this planet says that we should be able to make our own decisions? If we can't make decisions for ourselves in the United States, where can we exactly?" he questioned.
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FOX Business' Eric Revell contributed to this report.
