The Left is relentless in its attempt to nail the label of “fascist” to those on the right side of the political spectrum, Donald Trump being the most recent victim of this deceitful tactic. In truth, it is the massive increase in regulations and cronyism brought about by the progressive Left, that has the U.S. more and more resembling an actual fascist state.

Anyone wishing to experience this on a macro scale need only attempt doing business in California. Take just one industry as an example: construction, and one small sub-section within it: electrical -- the industry in which I work. As an electrical contractor for nearly twenty years, I’ve seen the regulatory environment grow over time but especially so over the last decade.

Surprisingly, individuals and corporations are still permitted to own property within the Peoples Republic of California. But those wanting to actually develop said property will quickly discover “ownership” is merely a relative term.

Again, taking just one area -- consumption of electricity -- look at the control the state now maintains over the use of private property. The California Energy Commission has a set of regulations called Title-24 that dictate the strict energy saving requirements for the construction of residential and commercial “private property.” All for the collective good, of course. Now, the free market already provides all the information and incentive necessary to employ any energy (cost) saving measures -- if an “owner” chooses to do so. But far from being right-wing, fascism is the antithesis of individuals being free to choose.

Title-24 has been around for many years and I’ve previously discussed how these regulations can result in more energy and resources being wasted. People will always find ways to outsmart the dictates handed down by the “brilliant” among us. But beyond the multitude of expensive dimming, vacancy sensing, and daylight harvesting products “owners” are forced to install, the currently enforced version of T-24 features some other troubling dictates.

Here is a small sampling of commercial requirements:

Buildings greater than 10,000 sq. ft. now require the installation of demand responsive lighting controls. This simply means an Independent System Operator (ISO) or other outside agency can send out a signal and automatically reduce the lighting level in commercial buildings when there’s a large increase in tier pricing or stress to the grid. So we’ve moved beyond mere suggestions to save energy to an outside authority reaching into private property to turn down the lights when deemed necessary.

Next, energy metering for loads over 50kVA is now required. This mandates that certain specific types of loads be grouped together in separate electrical panels such as lighting, motors, and HVAC for future separate metering. This expensive requirement is supposed to help “owners” and facility managers better understand how energy is used within the building. 

While the above may seem innocuous or even helpful (albeit costly) to some, those who think that future shenanigans couldn’t go on need only remember the IRS’s targeting of conservatives under Lois Lerner and that both Loretta Lynch and Kamala Harris wanted to prosecute climate deniers in violation of the First Amendment (no fascism to see here, folks). Certain “bad” industries or non-profits that just happen to use electricity, such as gun stores, churches (but not mosques), specific hobby stores, etc. may wish to take pause here and think about where regulation of this kind could eventually lead. So what will happen to the politically out of favor energy hog in the near future? 

Finally, Title-24 mandates strict building commissioning and functional testing requirements. This is where Democrat control freaks attempt to brag that they are “creating jobs” for the economy. You see, the new T-24 requirements are so complicated and stringent that not only can contractors and “owners” not be trusted to comply on their own, but building inspectors can no longer be expected to verify that a building is in full compliance with all of the CEC’s dictates. Solution? Force the creation a new occupation in California -- the Certified Lighting Control Acceptance Test Technician (CLCATT). A profession mandated (and licensed) by the state. In other words, jobs that will be a net drain on the economy.

Sure, over time some costs will be recovered through energy savings. But again, an “owner” is free to do all of this on his own and may better spend his lump-sum (channeling Henry Hazlitt here) on doing other ‘silly’ things such as growing his business and creating jobs which could actually result in profits in excess of any net energy savings (something truly progressive). What is never recovered (not without a fight) is the loss of liberty and wasted resources consumed by a growing bureaucracy and the parasitical industries that are created out of thin air instead of by market demand.

This progressive fascism certainly isn’t limited to California and is growing exponentially throughout every state and across every industry in the U.S. under Obama’s watch. It’s bad enough that fed, state and local workers now outnumber the U.S. manufacturing sector by over nine million strong. But how many so-called private sector jobs created by these dictates (sorry, diversity trainers) are now in existence, taking a huge bite out of the productive economy? And what percentage of Obama’s overhyped “job growth“ is of this type? Is it really any wonder why he will be the first president to never have a single year of 3% growth?            

Progressives are not builders, they are destroyers. Like a colony of termites infesting a building, they only consume and destroy the products of those who actually did “build that.” This is why small business creation has stalled; why the middle class is steadily shrinking; why it now takes two incomes to raise a family and why businesses are fleeing certain states and sometimes the country.

Hillary Clinton wants nothing more than to be queen of this growing fascist colony. The only hope for America now is to instead elect a good exterminator.

Scott blogs at www.politiseeds.com