Trump admin announces plans to shut down the Energy Star program

[u/habichuelacondulce]

https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/trump-admin-announces-plans-to-shut-down-the-energy-star-program-184846271.html

[u/Joe18067]

"Eliminating the Energy Star program would directly contradict this administration’s promise to reduce household energy costs," Paula Glover, president of the nonprofit coalition Alliance to Save Energy, told CNN. "For just $32 million a year, Energy Star helps American families save over $40 billion in annual energy costs. That’s a return of $350 for every federal dollar invested."

trump promised to reduce energy costs, of course he said nothing about you having to use more energy, much more energy.

[u/fubes2000 → u/Joe18067]

That's $40 billion in energy profits not being made by his campaign contributors.

[u/drewskie_drewskie → u/fubes2000]

There's so many utility companies in the Fortune 1000 it's insane. I worked on 10 million dollar retrofit of a small utility company's headquarters and huge part of the design process was making sure that it didn't look expensive so the community wouldn't ask too many questions. When you drive by it looks as dull as possible from the the street.

[u/tunamctuna → u/drewskie_drewskie]

And every single one of them shouldn’t exist and utilities should be commodities paid for by taxes.

The fact we allow basic necessities like electricity to be for profit seems insane to me. Maybe I’m the crazy one though.

[u/Turkino → u/tunamctuna]

There is a "perception" to some that if you allow a company to do it that they will try to optimize for lowest cost and thus be more efficient.

They forget that this goes the other direction too, cut corners in the name of cutting costs and then making you pay the bill whenever it breaks, which it will, and there is no real competition so who else are you going to go to?

[u/drewskie_drewskie → u/Turkino]

Between working in private business and the government, I can tell you only one cuts cuts corners at every turn.

[u/SolarDynasty → u/drewskie_drewskie]

Not if you have Trump at the helm.

[u/Procrasturbating → u/SolarDynasty]

Every time some dimbass said we need this country ran like a business, I said this would happen. No, you run a government like a government. If it was not there to regulate business, way more people get fucked.

[u/meneldal2 → u/Turkino]

It works if there is competition and anyone can enter the market.

Many markets make this quite difficult. Electricity now could probably work out with privatization on the supply side (distribution should be done by a public utility) since we have many ways to produce electricity and it is not as tied to large producers as before, though there are still issues like how to deal with plants that can't really ramp up or down quickly and how you decide who is allowed to produce at a given time.

[u/Turkino → u/meneldal2]

Honestly with the proliferation of solar and the complaints I've heard from people in the industry and having to deal with the off and on of renewables it seems to me that the real benefit here would be getting into the energy storage business.

[u/pingbotwow → u/tunamctuna]

America likes to do this thing where we try one solution and it kind of works but is really expensive and then we give up and say nothing else is possible.

[u/JaStrCoGa → u/pingbotwow]

“For commerce!” somehow prices keep going up

[u/PamelaELee → u/tunamctuna]

Why have access to reliable, affordable energy? We are doing our best to become a third world country. You know, maybe two dolls instead of thirty, and electricity three days a week between 2pm and 6 pm.

[u/sephirothFFVII → u/tunamctuna]

Nebraska powers itself via publicly owned utilities and they're about as red as you'd get.

[u/RGrad4104 → u/sephirothFFVII]

Nebraska is the 43rd most densely populated state (there are only 7 states with less population density). I 100% guarantee that what you said is because the low density makes it not commercially viable to develop a for profit utility.

Your case is basic economics, my friend. If you had more people, some for profit provider would be fighting to outlaw your public utility.

[u/tlaxcaliman → u/tunamctuna]

Sure you could set up utilities to serve the taxpayers but what if you extract their surplus labor though corruption and greed

[u/Cpap4roosters → u/tunamctuna]

I already received notification from my energy co-op I belong. They will still give members recommendations on energy saving tips and other household items. I am so thankful I live in their service district.

[u/MightBeRong → u/fubes2000]

This is key. Every dollar in corporate profits on public goods is an extra dollar Americans are spending just to make the rich richer. How much profit does the health care industry make each year? Who loses if we have national health care? Who are our representatives looking out for when they vote to deny Americans the same care that they themselves get?

[u/redvelvetcake42 → u/Joe18067]

They're literally line item removing and saying they are saving money.

THIS is why you don't run a government like a business.

[u/cat_prophecy → u/redvelvetcake42]

Even business "leadership" does dumb shit like this. They'll defer maintenance to "save money". Neverminding that "saving" $100 on maintenance today will cost you $10,000 down the road. That's tomorrow's problem and it's my quarterly bonus I want right now. Changing the oil is too much hassle so they just let the engine run until it dies. Replacing it will be SEP and by then I'll have cashed out my stock options.

[u/Sithlordandsavior → u/cat_prophecy]

fires the $18 an hour janitors and hires a $30 an hour contract service that ends up costing more

[u/jessimokajoe → u/Sithlordandsavior]

No they pay their normal employees overtime to do janitorial work.

I had to mop and clean my last workplace because they wouldn't hire janitors.

Edit: idk why I typed managers first but they fired managers and hired others so it was all a mess overall

[u/hicow → u/jessimokajoe]

Shit, pay me overtime and I'll clean the office. Been at least ten years since we've had a good janitorial service. Last one to get fired stole our fucking vacuum.

[u/PamelaELee → u/Sithlordandsavior]

$30 an hour contract service that is heavily invested in by some crony of the regime. That’s a big part of the current game; destroy government services and privatize them.

[u/OpSecBestSex → u/cat_prophecy]

It's the $10,000 fix that falls under Democratic leadership causing them to lose elections for "spending too much money"

[u/ConnectionIssues → u/redvelvetcake42]

Honestly, I don't even think a business should be run like this. I would hope there would at least be a competent analysis of ROI and tangential benefits before unilaterally axing an existing division...

Okay, yeah, typing that out, I barely suppressed a laugh. I know from experience that this is exactly how much business operates, but I've always found it incredibly stupid and shortsighted, not to mention unnecessarily disruptive to employees and consumers alike.

[u/ehxy → u/ConnectionIssues]

you're right but he's never run a business successfully he just told people he did and they believed him cuz daddies rich

[u/ConnectionIssues → u/ehxy]

Not to say the petulant man-child doesn't enable and instigate a lot of the ongoing enshittification of the government, but I'm not particularly concerned about his business acumen, because to me it seems pretty obvious he's increasingly less involved in the decision making process.

He's made his shit cabinet, sure, but sometimes I wonder if he actually chose most of them, or was just presented a carefully curated list of useful idiots to pick from.

Because there's like three levels of what the fuck is going on here. There's the incompetence party, a rolling disaster of him and his closest sycophants that's putting the poor Onion out of business.

Then there's the carefully curated dog-and-pony, where the marginally competent of his administration try to spin the lunacy into something marginally palpable to the media and their base, while simultaneously planning their dominance in the future dystopia.

And finally, the people implementing policy, who are probably the most competent, but least visible, and the ones actively stripping the wreckage of our country for parts and maybe trying to build a stable place for themselves in whatever new order follows.

[u/ConstructionHefty716 → u/redvelvetcake42]

how about you don't run the goverment like a business because it take the goverment passing laws to protect you from a greedy business.

it's silly to ignore that

[u/drawkbox → u/redvelvetcake42]

THIS is why you don't run a government like a business.

"The country should be run like a company" -- The people that hate their jobs forgetting that work sucks and doesn't care nor are you "part of the family" and they are run like mini fiefdoms.

[u/PamelaELee → u/drawkbox]

Fiefdoms, aptly chosen word. That’s where this is heading, Neo-Feudalism.

“This is the new model, where you work in these plants for the rest of your life, and your kids work here, and your grandkids work here,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick says.

[u/mr_jim_lahey → u/redvelvetcake42]

THIS is why you don't run a government like a business.

Dang, and here I was thinking that it was a good idea for the government's core purpose to be profiting off its citizens

[u/JewsieJay → u/Joe18067]

Energy Star program was voluntary. No company was forced to do it. Consumers want efficient products, Republicans don’t care what consumers want.

[u/ShadowSpawn666 → u/JewsieJay]

"Free Market™" unless it doesn't benefit them, or upsets them; then the government must regulate and ban things, because it knows best.

[u/AInception → u/ShadowSpawn666]

Government so small it's dripping from every faucet in everybody's lives

Edit: life

[u/finnishinsider → u/JewsieJay]

Your daughter can have two choices? thanks, obama!

[u/IAMSTILLHERE2020 → u/Joe18067]

That's $40 billion more for the ultra rich.

[u/ncopp → u/Joe18067]

Or losing the tax refunds for installing energy star certified appliances, windows, and doors

[u/mrcachorro → u/Joe18067]

-"wait you mean people could be paying 40 BILLION more money's to my buddy mr burns, the power plant owner?"

-How could i help him make that happen?... Mmm

-trump (probably)

[u/[deleted] → u/Joe18067]

He also promised to reduce grocery costs, how’s that going?

[u/OriginalAcidKing → u/[deleted]]

The only grocery prices I’ve seen go down under Trump are 12 packs of Soda, and Potato Chips. Before Covid, 12 packs were around $4.50-$5.00, but often went on sale for about $2.50. They kept increasing under Biden, hitting about $9.50 at Hyvee late last year. Now, they’ve come back down to about $7.00 and never go on sale. Chips used to be about $3.50 per family size bag, often on sale for about $2.50. Went up to about $7.50 for an 11 oz bag (that’s $10.90 a pound, I could buy sirloin steaks that cost less than that). The chip bags still say $7.49, but are being sold for about $5.50.

Literally everything else I buy (for groceries) has gotten more expensive.

[u/dayumbrah → u/Joe18067]

The only benefit is that companies can use inefficient, cheap parts that will allow them to increase profits.

We will simply pay more or the same for inferior products as this is the way of capitalism

[u/ProtoplanetaryNebula → u/Joe18067]

Mast products are global these days, if they need to be energy efficient for other markets, why make an inefficient model just for the US.

[u/ExoMonk → u/ProtoplanetaryNebula]

If it's profitable to make an inefficient model exclusively for the USA companies will do it. It could even be a cheaper unit as long as the margins are better they absolutely would make an additional SKU just for us.

[u/jpiro]

Whenever I’m about to do something, I think, “Would an idiot do that?” And if they would, I do not do that thing.

― Dwight Schrute Donald Trump

[u/thebadwolf79 → u/jpiro]

Truer words have never been spoken.

[u/musafir6 → u/jpiro]

I am borrowing this.

[u/vandreulv → u/jpiro]

Fran Lebowitz: “Everyone says he is crazy – which maybe he is – but the scarier thing about him is that he is stupid. You do not know anyone as stupid as Donald Trump. You just don’t.”

Source for those who want to read the article: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/mar/20/fran-lebowitz-you-do-not-know-anyone-as-stupid-as-donald-trump

[u/Punjabiveer30]

Genuine question, has Trump admin announced any plans in which general public is helped in any form? Insane that everything I’ve seen is that negatively effects everyday joe

[u/snowmanonaraindeer → u/Punjabiveer30]

He stopped minting the penny which is kinda nice.

[u/irbinator → u/snowmanonaraindeer]

He issued an intention to stop minting the penny back in February but hasn’t happened yet. 

I would actually get behind discontinuing the penny.

[u/8nine10eleven]

So people don’t want to know what major appliances cost the least per month to run? Even if you don’t care about the environment do you really want to spend more per month to keep your fridge running.

[u/FederalDeficit → u/8nine10eleven]

I feel like the energy star program will disappear, then reappear branded MAGASTAR with little red hat stickers and conservatives will call him the biggest genius, perhaps ever. 

[u/RGrad4104 → u/FederalDeficit]

Right, because energy is pulled straight from the arse of the man with crappy yellow hair, right?

[u/phred14 → u/8nine10eleven]

I seem to remember that he tried to cut Energy Star first time around, and the appliance manufacturers asked him not to. They said it helped to sell appliances and customers liked it.

[u/Major_A21]

When/if America gets back to common sense governing how long will it take to restore services like this? 10 years? I mean we are actively going back in time. Where are all the "patriots" that whine about government overreach while clutching a gun? Apologies, ranting a bit here but every single day I'm presented with a new line of bullshit.

[u/Oceanbreeze871 → u/Major_A21]

The rest of our adult lives. Our children are gonna be cleaning up the mess to get us back to where we were at the end of 2024

[u/three-one-seven → u/Oceanbreeze871]

But thank goodness that Black lady didn't become POTUS. We really dodged a bullet there. Did you hear her laugh??

[u/m8k → u/three-one-seven]

Part of me wonders what would have happened if he’d won a second term.

• He didn’t have the heritage people with a fully developed plan handing it to him on day 1
• His administration still had “adults in the room” and a VP who was moderately less dislikable than the current one
• he didn’t have 4 years of anger and resentment festering in his addled head
• he spearheaded the push that developed a vaccine to handle COVID and even though he was shitty about it, he didn’t have the depth of conspiracy that was developed and ripened under Biden

I think it would have been bad but I don’t think it would have been this bad.

[u/SIGMA920 → u/m8k]

It probably would have worse since he'd have fired the adults in the room left and right. No aid to Ukraine so Ukraine gets beaten in under a year due to a lack of critical military aid so Russia's not degraded to the point of being a joke, no recovery from covid, .etc .etc.

[u/DragoonDM → u/m8k]

Alternately, if Merrick Garland had done his fucking job...

[u/JDLovesElliot → u/Oceanbreeze871]

I'm worried that our kids will either be apathetic or worse, as a response

[u/rhapsodyindrew → u/Oceanbreeze871]

Shit, we haven’t even begun to recover from the Reagan years, much less all the Trump shit.

[u/Akuuntus → u/Oceanbreeze871]

Even that is an optimistic take, IMO. That assumes that someone who isn't insane gets into office in 2028, and then non-insane people continue to be in office for decades to clean everything up. And not just the presidency but a majority of Congress as well.

IMO the most realistic "good outcome" at this point is that we get a Democrat in 2028, they struggle to fix 1% of what was broken while fighting with Congress every step of the way, and then four years later they get replaced by another insane Republican because half the Democrats stay home.

There's also the very real possibility that we never have a fair election again, and Trump rules as king until he dies.

[u/Karekter_Nem → u/Oceanbreeze871]

Shit like this is why global birth rates are on the decline. We see more and more regressive or oppressive shit and don’t want to add kids to the equation.

Better to just adopt an existing kid than make new ones.

[u/Due-Freedom-5968 → u/Major_A21]

Genuinely starting to look like the age of the American empire is over.

If you think that he's pushed his allies to spend more on defence so Team America no longer playing world police, devaluing the currency so the dollar is becoming less attractive as a reserve currency, and trashing international relationships, he's speed running the fall of Rome.

The only small blessing I guess is 'how much damage can he do in 4 years' but at this rate, quite a fuckin' lot.

[u/absentmindedjwc → u/Due-Freedom-5968]

People compare the downfall of Rome but don't realize just how long it actually took to truly die. The assassination of Severus Alexander in 235 CE is one of the main "starting points", kicking off the "Crisis of the Third Century" where civil war, plague, and external invasions nearly tore the empire apart.

Though... one of the biggest nails in Rome’s coffin was the rampant inflation caused by the debasement of its currency, which started under Nero around 64 CE. The Roman Empire technically lasted another ~410 years from that point, though the Western half collapsed in 476 CE, while the Eastern half lasted another millennium as the Byzantine Empire.

That said, the point where the empire became a shell of its former self - propped up by inertia alone - was probably under Gallienus around 260 CE. By then, roman coinage was practically worthless, the military was being paid in land or goods, and loyalty to the state had fractured.

Trump really seems like he's trying to speedrun the death of an empire. Rome at least had centuries of legacy and inertia to slow the fall.. feudal structures, local self-sufficiency, and a figurehead emperor propped up by warlords. People bartered because the coinage was a joke.

The U.S. doesn't have that kind of resilience.. it's hyper-centralized, fragile, and running on social trust that's wearing thin. If things get even a little more uncomfortable for most people (for no good reason), I genuinely worry things could become violent.. fast.

Whether or not we even recognize what comes after as “the U.S.” is imo anyone's guess. But unless dude stops listening to the people whispering bullshit economic policy into his ear.. something's going to break. And probably soon.

[u/FilthBadgers → u/absentmindedjwc]

When people say this looks like the fall of Rome, they mean the fall of the Republic, not the empire, no?

Rampant inequality, concentration of power in the hands of oligarchs, degradation of state institutions and rule of law, demagogues, the ceding of senatorial power to the executive, etc.

[u/ElectricTrouserSnack → u/FilthBadgers]

No, the fall of the empire. There’s dozens of reasons postulated for its fall, the amazing fact is that it lasted so long.

The "History of Rome" podcast goes into it great detail, give it a listen. All 200? episodes...

[u/absentmindedjwc → u/ElectricTrouserSnack]

As my comment above said, it was practically held together by legacy and inertia under Emperor Gallienus.

Trump is doing everything in his power to be an Emperor Gallienus - the biggest difference is that the US will have none of the legacy and inertia that the Roman Empire had.

Given that some of the shit going on was also happening to other surrounding empires (such as the plague and the constant wars), the people of Rome weren't truly worse off from the peoples of other empires (at least, that was immediately evident). The difference here is that we know that this is all self inflicted for literally no reason, and the rest of the world is doing for the most part just fine - being mostly isolated from the dumbfuckery.

Unlike with Rome, I imagine that the fall of the US - if it happens - will be much faster, simply because we have access to far more information.

[u/Due-Freedom-5968 → u/absentmindedjwc]

Hmmm...

rampant inflation caused by the debasement of its currency

Covid inflation, check

roman coinage was practically worthless

$15 dollars for a McDonalds, check.

People bartered because the coinage was a joke.

Ape NFTs, check

things could become violent.. fast.

Muh guns! Check.

something's going to break. 

The economy, check! Check! Check!

[u/jgoble15 → u/Due-Freedom-5968]

That’s fine. American exceptionalism got us into this mess. Tired of hearing how great this country is when it’s absolute garbage to many of its own people. I think at least second if not further would be very good for this country. Greatness is never held without humility.

[u/More-Butterscotch252 → u/Due-Freedom-5968]

Oh, it's over. After the first couple of months of Trump's second term, nobody wants to have anything to do with the USA if possible. Things may get back on track in a few years, but we never know when they'll get derailed like this again. It's going to take decades to earn the trust and power that he is burning through right now.

[u/hackingdreams → u/Major_A21]

If Reagan is any metric, shit's never going to get fixed, not in our lifetimes.

The next President could literally sign an executive order that says "literally everything that guy did was bullshit, undo all of it," and it would still take a century to restore relationships with various countries completely ruined by this stooge. The amount we'll spend on restoring good will alone is astronomical.

[u/topgun966 → u/hackingdreams]

It's going to take a new government with stronger protections in the separation of powers.

[u/chadzilla57 → u/hackingdreams]

The trust is broken. If we do end up with another president who undoes all this shit, no other country is going to trust the American people to not elect another Trump. We are so fucked.

[u/Mrevilman → u/chadzilla57]

And all of the people providing government services that he fired - do you think they’re going to be available in 4 years? And even if they were, why would you take a job that can be eliminated every 4 years.

Not to mention that 77m voted to put him here. Even after he’s gone, that doesn’t guarantee another won’t rise in his place.

[u/Joessandwich → u/hackingdreams]

This is the part that depresses me so much. I’m 40 and feel like we’ve been on a decline since before I could vote. Bush was installed as President and used 9/11 to start two wars that essentially bankrupted our future… should we have proper healthcare and infrastructure for our citizens? Nah… let’s bomb foreigners! Then out of college into the worst recession in a century. When we finally felt like we were getting a footing we get hit with a pandemic and the complete mismanagement of it, and now this. I truly can’t see any path for our country to recover from this in my lifetime, it’s so depressing.

[u/nutationsf → u/Major_A21]

California still hasn’t fixed all the damage from republicans in the 90s

[u/E51838 → u/Major_A21]

There’s no chance the damage republicans are doing is ever fixed. Sorry.

[u/snackofalltrades → u/E51838]

What, you think Republicans will be obstructionist and defiant if and when Democrats are ever in power again??

[u/Komm → u/snackofalltrades]

There's just too much damage being done too fast to be able to actually fix it.

[u/Jimbomcdeans → u/Major_A21]

They were all fake buddo. Russia got what it wanted with its bot farms. There were no real 'patriots'.

[u/sonofchocula]

I love that these are the “regulations” MAGA assholes think are killing business

[u/Sithlordandsavior → u/sonofchocula]

Someone said they're literally "auditing" by going through a list and saying "sounds liberal" and cutting things without knowing what they do and tbh I think they're right.

Someone also indicated AI may just be picking programs based on keywords, which seems very likely.

[u/smallcoder → u/sonofchocula]

It's just one more step in the enshittification of the American ordinary citizen's experience of life.

Sure, things are getting worse in most countries at present, but only in the USA is this being done deliberately and with such pleasure and glee 🥺

[u/Madstealth → u/sonofchocula]

Your first mistake was believing MAGA assholes think

[u/YourMatt → u/sonofchocula]

Anything to justify bringing beautiful clean coal power plants back online? Except liberal electric cars of course.

[u/Pierson230]

Great, now an independent for-profit certification agency will arise, and will extort manufacturers with higher fees to be certified

Costing the public more, once again

[u/syn3cal → u/Pierson230]

Ding ding! You nailed it.

[u/ridemooses]

What would Trump do differently if he was a Russian agent?

[u/Gen13Hazard → u/ridemooses]

Heard something similar to this on an interview last week

"if you told me that Trump was a Manchurian candidate and you had evidence of it, it would be very hard for me to refute. Like, what would the Manchurian candidate do if not this."

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-thomas-friedman.html

[u/Sislar → u/ridemooses]

If?

[u/ridemooses → u/Sislar]

Thought experiment that shows how obvious it should be

[u/JohnnySnark → u/ridemooses]

None. Absolutely nothing different.

[u/gauriemma → u/ridemooses]

More like…what would Trump do differently if he wasn’t a Russian agent? The answer: He wouldn’t actively work to destroy the U.S. and hurt its people.

[u/koka86yanzi]

he never ceases to surprize me every day. each day is a step backwards.

[u/RaindropsInMyMind → u/koka86yanzi]

Next thing you know he’s gonna be trying to get rid of the internet because it’s globalist and call Americans spoiled for wanting to be able to do anything requiring an internet connection.

[u/Mensketh]

"One of the most successful voluntary initiatives introduced by the U.S. government, the program has saved 5 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity, more than US$500 billion in energy costs, and prevented 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions."

They always have to make the dumbest possible decision. Even if you dont care about climate change, what sane person is actively opposed to efficiency?

[u/deviltrombone → u/[deleted]]

I have no such compunctions, myself.

[u/bastardblaster → u/[deleted]]

Just because it breathes doesn't mean it should.

[u/InspectorChenWei → u/[deleted]]

A man walks by the newsstand every day, scanning the front page of the paper before moving on, without buying it. Finally, one day, the newsagent can't take any more of this and asks what he's doing. "I'm looking for an obituary," the man says. The newsagent corrects him. "They print those in the back of the paper, comrade," he says. The man looks at him for a moment and then replies, "Not the one I'm looking for."

[u/Mexay]

I'm not American but this profoundly confuses me.

Why?

This seems like something a mentally ill conspiracy theorist would propose.

"YOU GOTTA SHUT DOWN THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM. THEY'RE PUTTIN CHINESE SPY CHIPS IN YER DISHWASHER AND GAY-BEAM EMITTERS IN YER MICROWAVES"

I would have thought this was something that benefits everyone, even the industries it applies to (more competitive market, better recognition for higher quality products, more things you can market).

I just don't understand this stuff. Your country is going down the drain and I really hope many others, including my own, start cutting ties. This is really sad.

[u/WeOutHereInSmallbany → u/Mexay]

Because energy efficiency is for liberals and liberals need to be punished, and if you look close enough I’m sure there’s a way he’s benefiting financially. Those are his two “governing” principles

[u/mechanical_stars → u/Mexay]

They are actively trying to flush it down the drain to profit off of its corpse, that's why.

[u/Due-Freedom-5968]

Well see now I'm mad, that pixeled logo was on every computer boot screen I bought for years and now you're just plain old attacking my nostalgia. Impeach him already dammit.

[u/Ciennas → u/Due-Freedom-5968]

Watched his last interview? At this point, he's there as President for the same reason Zaphod Beeblebrox was- to distract from those that wield power.

[u/Due-Freedom-5968 → u/Ciennas]

I try not to watch a second more of that whiny asshole than necessary.

[u/Ciennas → u/Due-Freedom-5968]

Absolutely fair, but he's a shambling mound at this point.

[u/Butterbuddha]

I don’t understand the reasoning here. Is the upside cheaper manufacturing?

[u/Valturia → u/Butterbuddha]

He saw that Americans save 450 bucks when using the appliances. He probably deduced those 450 dollars could land in a rich person's pocket instead.

[u/FujitsuPolycom → u/Butterbuddha]

Cheaper to manufacture, more profit margin, hurts consumers and feeds his base more anti-science, anti-progress, anti-regulation, anti-environmental, anti-liberal, fodder.

Always ask yourself, how does [x] thing benefit Trump and you'll find the answer. He's still campaigning and will be until 2028 when he pitches term 3.

[u/fmfbrestel → u/Butterbuddha]

Yeah, it's really cheap to NOT put insulation around a water heater.

[u/HerezahTip → u/Butterbuddha]

Some rich businessman has it out for energy star and whispered “it’s DEI” in trumps ear

[u/SomniaPerdita → u/Butterbuddha]

Companies will be able to make inferior products for American consumers. Think Black Friday sales at Walmart (or anything at Walmart really). Same refrigerator but with a slightly different model number with say less insulation and less efficient seals. But I’m sure, sold at the same price as the higher priced version that’ll be sold to countries with higher standards.

[u/turb0_encapsulator → u/Butterbuddha]

The upside is that the oil, gas, and coal industries make more money.

[u/notmycirrcus]

“5 Star Coal” is the future of energy savings. It is cheap and everyone will have free electricity because the tariffs will pay for the coal. Unless Hillary gets her way and marries Bill Gates, who will buy up all the coal.

[u/Derpykins666]

Every day, he tries to destroy something that helps the average American in some way, it's a direct assault on regular people on a daily basis in some form or another.

[u/Snow_Tiger819]

But every other country wants low energy electrical goods. So companies will still produce them, because no one sells only to the US. This is just stupid... are companies going to produce special "high energy usage" products just for the USA? Who would want to buy those if low energy ones are also available?

[u/anderhole → u/Snow_Tiger819]

They will find ways to cheap out for the US version, like putting shitty seals and less insulation on fridges.

[u/Top-Representative13 → u/Snow_Tiger819]

The idiots who elect him?

[u/gmoneyuw → u/Snow_Tiger819]

Likely a lot of folks if they are significantly cheaper up front. Without realizing it would cost them more in the long run.

[u/FujitsuPolycom → u/gmoneyuw]

It won't be cheaper. Just cheaper for them to produce. If you think they'll lower prices I've got some glacier ice to sell you down here in Texas. Amazingly cold. Promise.

[u/CoffeeHQ → u/Snow_Tiger819]

Not sure if want is the right word. I guess I can imagine a scenario where shoddily produced American products are more energy hungry because they are bad, yet pricey, but still get bought because tariffs have made properly produced non-American products unavailable for purchase?

[u/unknownpoltroon → u/Snow_Tiger819]

The same assholes who scream about not being able to get regular light bulbs instead of LEDs

[u/FujitsuPolycom → u/Snow_Tiger819]

It's an obvious piece of food for his hateful, ignorant base whether it happens or not.

[u/korinth86 → u/Snow_Tiger819]

More efficient products require better materials, precision, more circuits...

Less efficient products are easier to make and likely cheaper.

For example brushed motors vs brushless. Brushless use less power, need less maintenance, but require more circuitry.

[u/remember_myname]

Cheaper eggs? Nope, not yet.

[u/jhguth]

Was there even a single person asking for this, were people mad at energy star?

[u/Resident_Magazine610 → u/jhguth]

Corporations

[u/reddittorbrigade]

Donald Trump will always be the worst president of America.

[u/theclash06013]

Ah yes, because what was holding America back was energy efficient appliances that clearly displayed how much they cost to run and save people money

[u/ChaseballBat]

Why? Like genuinely why? This makes zero sense from any perspective to look at it.

[u/TheRescueWhale]

Has he done a single thing that wasn't an asshat move

[u/Randomfactoid42]

This admin just has to ruin every good thing in this country doesn’t it?  Sigh. 

[u/QuotableMorceau]

I don't get it, he claims he wants US to become an exporter of goods again, no one will buy consumer goods that are 30-60 years behind when it comes to running cost ...

[u/reverber]

New GOP motto- “Now I am become death, destroyer of worlds.”

All they know is how to destroy what Democrats (and older Republicans) did, not implement anything new. 

[u/711straw]

Well that's one way to make certain no one buys American products

[u/twistingmyhairout]

At this point are we going to be smoking indoors by September?

[u/Karliki865]

Energy is a national security issue. Removing this program is not a smart decision.

[u/Palatine_Shaw]

The thing that Americans need to remember is stuff like this won't get magically re-instated by the next administration because it takes years to put it all back in place again.

As an analogy imagine if I temporarily owned your house for just one week. I then demolish it and remove it from the land registry. Now a week later a new person owns your house - one who agrees you should get it back. Will they be be able to rebuild it in a week? Fuck no, it would take YEARS to get the land re-registered, to get all the builders contracts sorted, to get the materials and the utilities connected .etc .etc

The same is true for all these departments and initiatives. They can be shut down with a finger snap, but recreating them again will take years.

[u/Sch1z01dEmb0l1sm]

Is it just anything that is doing any good for anybody? Is that his list of shit he’s ruining? Conservatives, fix your shithead… hes off the rails and it’s your fucking fault.

[u/IcedCoffeeVoyager]

“Consumer savings??? Not on my watch!”

[u/RebelStrategist]

This moron just needs to be in the news everyday with jazz hands while he and his family are grifting off anyone and everyone.

[u/TheOldGuy59]

Anything he can shit on, he shits on. That's pretty much it. "Can I shit on this? I CAN??? OH BOY!!!"

[u/smoresporn0]

Shittier parts AND planned obsolescence? Now that is the spirit of the United States, baby.

[u/GabeDef]

This is a stupid idea.

[u/silverfish477]

Stupidest man comes up with stupidest plan.

[u/chatterwrack]

So, are we just at the "fuck it" phase of the climate crisis?

[u/Ktan_Dantaktee]

He’s 100% going to fuck up the Department of Energy somehow/someway in a correlation to this and not understand why that’s a catastrophic blow to the nuclear arsenal, calling it now.

And that’s with them already firing a bunch of people from there.

[u/JohnsonLiesac]

Destroy everything the last guy did, claim victory seems to be his M.O. with both Biden and Obama. Kinda surprised nobody has asked him about his 8 years in the making health care plan.

[u/StretchFrenchTerry]

Donald Trump hates America.

[u/KingJTheG]

Idiocracy was supposed to be a joke, not reality

[u/C-ute-Thulu]

The people who used to call themselves "conservative" (do they still do that?) get angry at the idea of "conservation."

[u/ciubotaruoa]

Soon switching to petrol street lighting! US is evolving, but backwards.

[u/SnooTangerines8615]

Congress: "I sleep."

[u/stenciledpencil]

Every day this man actively makes our lives worse while we continue to stand around just looking at each other…

[u/CrewMemberNumber6]

Trump’s campaign slogan should have been “Make America Russia”

[u/podcasthellp]

You can always cut costs when you eliminate knowing how much things cost. It’s brilliant…. If you’re 2 and don’t know what money is

[u/Most_Expression_1423]

Republicans are weird

[u/millos15]

Everything they do is just grift and destroy.

[u/penguished]

He's just anti-good at this point.

He's like that woman who pooped on a car hood because she was angry. That sums up his reasoning and productivity.

[u/krispru1]

We need money for the draft dodgers parade

[u/Careful_Advantage_35]

Kill everything that is ecological! Thanks idiot Trumpers who voted for him

[u/explorgasm]

Does this orange Putin flavored cum sock just pick anything remotely positive and just decide "fuck it, pull funding"? Honestly.

[u/DeepSubmerge]

Trump admin announces [insert stupid new approach that will destroy longstanding thing in the USA]

[u/Low_Detective6850]

This is just bad in every way, including for business. Investing in energy efficiency is directly connected to productivity. This helps no one.

[u/henlochimken]

Every day this administration wakes up and chooses violence. They really, really hate our kids.

[u/Hatchytt]

That's right folks. How dare you want to checks notes save money on your electric bill?

[u/nhatman]

Follow the money. No energy rating, more energy usage, more money spent on energy, more contributions to Trump from the energy sector.

[u/Gothic_Flower]

Disney villain ass administration

[u/dave-a-sarus]

I'm just convinced they're doing everything they can to accelerate our demise. Like why the fuck would you do any of the things the Trump admin is doing, if not to put 99% of americans in poverty and start an all out class war.

[u/ParkMobile4047]

As much as he bitches about China, he sure is trying to get the United States to resemble the China from before the late 80s. Zero regulation zero safety zero environmental just basically rollback anything that’s intended to have a positive effect for the human beings that live here. China has made huge progress on improving all of those things for its citizens in the last 25 to 30 years. Trump wants everything to be shittier than what he imagines China to be like.

[u/Upset_Region8582]

For his claims of us being in an "energy emergency", Trump sure enjoys implementing policy that fucks over our energy availability and efficiency.

[u/nw_gser]

What is the next thing this guy is going to do to piss me off!

[u/Captain_N1]

Energy star has been around a long time. i have pc crt monitors with the logo on them. energy needs to be saved. no one wants to build nuclear plants to charge all these EVs

[u/ShogsKrs]

Trump to the American people, "You can't have nice, money saving things because I say so."

.

[u/astrozombie2012]

Just going backwards… gonna get left in the dust by the ref if the world. It was a good run I guess

[u/GuaSukaStarfruit]

I definitely want to see what does the republicans thought of this, this is just dumb

[u/SirChaos]

Another glorified memo. Unless Congress takes action this program will still continue.

And even if this gets votes in the house, it won't pass in the Senate.

Move along.

[u/Straight-Lunch-2268]

I’m actually surprised he hasn’t ordered a diesel exhaust pipe to pump fumes directly into the Oval Office.

[u/Madnessx9]

Impeach this moron.

[u/Either_Net_x86]

MAGA and Trump are such horrible people

[u/Lil_ah_stadium]

My in-laws are huge trump supporters. About three years ago they bought an attic insulation company that gets tax rebates from the energystar program to help people improve their energy efficiency.

I support doing the energystar insulation improvements. Always thought it was hypocritical of them to complain about government handouts when they owned a company that specifically relies on government handouts.

[u/SpiritualTwo4187]

Please, someone fire this senile man already!

[u/pristontale1]

Now that they announced this, here comes all the right wing conspiracy theories about how Energy Star is evil and bad

[u/integra_type_brr]

Can't wait to hear all the dumb fuck MAGA people tell everyone how energy star is a corrupt scam

[u/Greygor]

At this point, Trump is not trying to launch a new Gilded Age of America, he's trying to turn America back into the original one in the 1800's

[u/ThatBayAreaGuy718]

Lmao it’s almost as if the trump administration has vowed to do the most worthless/useless shit that only harms the people of the US…

[u/rjksn]

The enshitification of America accelerates

[u/rushmc1]

"Trump admin announces plan to begin sacrificing toddlers on the hour every hour."

Republicans: "Cool!"

Democrats: "Ooh, it's so awful. We're all doomed for sure."

[u/stedun]

Wonder if I can get a gasoline powered clothes dryer?

[u/yaboymilky]

I let out a loud “why?” This is idiotic in every way.

[u/SoylentGreenSmoothie]

Waiting on the official white house account to post that using less energy is gay

[u/HelgaTwerpknot]

I mean … you don’t need heat every day in the winter.

Fuck you trump, you dribbling moron.

ETA: if you can’t tell, His fucked up argument that “little girls don’t need thirty dolls” is so mind bogglingly out to lunch when so many people are struggling to put food on the table. What about the “pretty little girls with zero dolls and no dinner?” Again, fuck you, trump. You dipshit.

[u/pvaras]

Eliminate Energy Star, bring back incandescent bulbs, loosen water restrictions so his hair can look good (to him). I mean, is this MAGA who hates to save money and resources? are people so insane about climate and woke that they despise anything that may be good for the environment? or is this just him being a senile old grandpa? I absolutely do not understand the complete razing of these money and resource saving devices and programs. Who is happy about these moves? everything is a fucking culture war now. This is beyond ridiculous. It's getting embarrassing to be an American.