Fox News didn’t wait for the EPA’s new carbon emissions rules to be announced before they started fear mongering about them. On Saturday, Forbes on Fox spent more than five minutes frightening viewers into thinking our electricity bills will now skyrocket. Of course, nobody mentioned the likely savings from energy efficiency and other economic benefits.
Host David Asman began the discussion with a Fox News alert claiming that a new EPA climate rule could cost more than $50 billion a year. He also cited a Chamber of Commerce claim that other regulations will cause electric bills to go up by $289 billion.
Panelist John Tamny trashed the regulations by calling them “an obnoxious conceit that presumes those who can’t can oversee those who can.”
Asman “asked” panelist Rick Ungar, “Rick, this is another kind of tax is it not?”
Ungar was the lone voice of dissent. He agreed we are overregulated. But, he said, “Consider the reason why. Some things have to be regulated because business won’t do the right thing on their own.”
Asman complained, “They’re regulating everything. …There’s new dishwasher regulators, new washing machine regulations. I imagine if you don’t do what the government says, you’re going to have dishwasher police come into your house right?”
Panelist Rick Karlgaard sneered, “The thing that’s really disturbing about this administration is that all they know how to do is tax and punish. They don’t know anything about creating incentives to increase goods and services on the supply side.”
But as Media Matters reports, several organizations foresee economic and other benefits in increased regulations. For example, the National Resources Defense Council says that putting limits on carbon pollution could create up to 274,000 jobs. Increased energy efficiency carbon standards could save the average household $103 a year. A report by Resources for the Future calls the benefits of carbon standards are “positive and large.” None of that was mentioned in the presumably “fair and balanced” panel of six people plus one host.
