14 MAY 2015 ■ IndustrialHeating.com
T
he combination of federal rulemaking (by
“Administrative Law” as discussed here in
December 2014) and associated financial
burdens on industry boggle the mind.
For example, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has a final rule effective July 13,
2015, to revise and restrict recycling provisions
for scrap metals that involve considerable
recordkeeping, storage and spills requirements;
worker training; state and local permitting; and
government notifications. This is expected to
involve 5,000 facilities in 634 industries, 41% in
manufacturing sectors. The EPA has changed the
definition of legitimate recycling.
Another example of federal intrusion by
regulation applies to wood-burning stoves. A
new EPA rule prohibits fabrication of new stoves.
About 10% of American households burn wood,
and the number that rely on it for primary heat
rose 10% between 2005 and 2012. Tw o states
(Michigan and Missouri) barred environmental
agencies from enforcing the rule, and prohibitions
are pending in Virginia and three other states.
Did it ever occur to citizens that it is not
government ’s job to rule by edict on matters of
whether “we the people” can have a wood-burning
stove in our house?
A major intrusion example is the EPA’s
greenhouse-gas regulation for new (and
planned) coal-f ired power plants, which
assuredly portends higher electricity costs with
no meaningful environmental benefits. EPA
arguments are all based on weak scientific
analyses. It is evident that Congress should
remove EPA authority to regulate these matters.
While politicians have an agenda on these
matters, the scientific truths show a controversy
about whether human activity is a driver of
climate change and give an honest assessment
of the magnitude of greenhouse-gas emissions’
contribution to the issue.
Think about this. Regardless of who puts
CO 2 into the air, the Center for the Study of
Carbon Dioxide and Global Change calculates
that the monetary benefit from atmospheric
CO 2 enrichment for crop production was $3.
trillion from 1961 to 2011 and will yield $9.
trillion in benefits between now and 2050. For
the dimbulb politicos and media who have noclue about reality and technolog y, this includes
understanding mank ind ’s true and relative
importance in the world.
Now let ’s overlay thoughts about the federal
establishment that is imposing this nonsense
on you and American societ y. The federal
government employed 2.1 million civilians and
paid wages and benefits to them of $254 billion
in 2014. These federal employees are paid 74%
more than U.S. private-sector employees in
80% of occupations studied by both federal
agencies and private institutions. Federal civilian
employees were paid an average of $81,076 in
2013, according to U.S. Bureau of Economic
Analysis, while the nation’s private-sector
workers were paid $55,424. When health care
and pension benefits are included, federal
compensation averaged $115,524, or 74% more
than the private sector. Tw o years ago, the
federal benefits package amounted to an average
$34,448 annua l ly, while it was $10,933 in the
private sector. Income growth at the upper end
of the scale, as measured five years ago, included
383,000 federal employees with salaries over
$100,000; 66,000 with salaries over $150,000;
and 22,000 with salaries over $170,000.
As of Jan. 13, 2015, Congress had two
companion bills (one each in the House and
Senate) that give federal employees a 3.8% pay
raise in 2016. The new Congress is reportedly
unlikely to “get behind” these bills, but my
view is not to count on what the daily papers
report. When you hear American Federation
of Government Employees President J. David
Cox Sr. lament that “the proposed pay raise
would help repay federal workers for wages they
lost due to budget cuts” (what budget cuts?)
or National Federation of Federal Employees
President William R. Dougan whine over the
1% pay adjustment over the past two years as
“woefully insufficient,” it infuriates any sane or
knowledgeable person.
The message here is that American citizens
and the private sector that drive the economy
MUST tell the politicians to knock off all such
madness, be honest and do the job they were sent
to do. Otherwise, American forbearance will
collapse and be followed by strife, which is never
pleasant or painless for any nation.Out-of-Control Government
FEDERAL TRIANGLE
BARRY ASHBY
Washington Editor
202-255-
[email protected]“American
citizens and
the private
sector that drive
the economy
MUST tell the
politicians to
be honest
and do the
job they were
sent to do.”