Consumers Left in the Cold

[Woodmonkey]

Consumers Left in the Cold


By now it should come as no surprise that the Bush administration dislikes regulation. It has appointed industry-friendly officials to lead agencies that enforce everything from consumer safety to workplace regulations. It has watered down standards and deprived regulatory agencies of the resources they need to do their jobs.

Yet some companies seem to believe that the nation’s threadbare consumer protections are still too stringent and should best be ignored. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Mattel, the world’s largest toy maker — which this summer alone recalled more than 20 million Chinese-made toys worldwide — has delayed reporting defects to the government because it thinks the reporting rules are unreasonable.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which requires companies to report potential hazards within 24 hours of their discovery, has fined Mattel twice for such delays since 2001: once because it waited about two years before reporting a fire hazard in its Power Wheels motorized minicars and on another occasion because it took months to report loose screws on its Little People Animal Sounds Farm.

The commission is now investigating Mattel’s recent handling of toys containing tiny magnets that, if swallowed, could puncture a toddler’s stomach lining. Though the company recalled 2 million Polly Pocket figurines with these magnets last November, it wasn’t until August that it recalled another 18 million toys that were also studded with the magnets.

Mattel’s excuse — that it needs time to analyze reports of possible hazards before telling the authorities — is arrogant and dangerous. And Mattel’s unapologetic willingness to defy the regulators leaves no doubt that the nation’s battered regulatory apparatus is not up to the task of protecting American consumers.

The commission’s puny fines, capped at less than $2 million, are clearly no deterrent against flouting its rules and should be raised. But rather than tightening consumer protections, the Bush administration seems happy to let the agency decline. Under this White House’s tutelage, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has promoted voluntary compliance over safety mandates. Bush appointees have also coddled manufacturers in other ways — for instance, by allowing companies not to report hazards involving their products if the risk of injury is considered to be obvious or predictable, or if misuse played a role.

Meanwhile, budget and staff cuts are weakening the agency’s ability to detect wrongdoing, even as the nation is hit by wave after wave of recalls of Chinese imports. In the last two years, the commission’s budget has been cut by 10 percent. Its staff, which reached nearly 1,000 people in the ’70s, is now down to 420 workers, 12.5 percent fewer than in 2002. Eric Lipton of The Times reported that there is only one employee to test suspected defective toys from across the nation.

The Bush administration apparently considers regulatory weakness a virtue. But in this summer of recalls, Mattel’s cavalier approach is a chilling reminder of the dangers of coddling industry and starving regulators.

The Source

[Snowden]

The Bush administration apparently considers regulatory weakness a virtue. But in this summer of recalls, Mattel’s cavalier approach is a chilling reminder of the dangers of coddling industry and starving regulators.

This is indeed chilling! Mattel is one company -- I know I will never buy anything they produce again, but look how much damage that will do them! I will see that my granddaughter gets a copy of this so her baby won't have any of those trucks little boys love so. That's all I can do -- but for our nation's leaders not to really clamp down on these companies is a disgrace. The fines should be huge! (That may bring down the national debt, Shooterman, if properly applied.)

The companies were so anxious to outsource their business, but they didn't stop and realize that third world countries don't think about safety as we do. They don't consider life as important as we do. They don't care about our children or adults as we do -- especially ours! The money is all they really care about, and those companies are conscienceless and greedy.

We do really need to boycott things made in China, more than any other nation.

[Shooterman]

I would humbly suggest, the finest regulatory agency in the world is the consumer's mind. Couple this with a few huge lawsuits against those companies flagrantly disregarding what people may think about safety, and those companies will soon be trying to sell their wares to other nations rather than us.

Let the market do what it does best, reward those with superior products, if even at a higher price, and punish those with inferior products by not purchasing their junk. Who knows, life may once again become simpler.

No one can expect government, and this is certainly no endorsement of the Criminal in Chief, but somewhere, somehow, people must at some point, take their own safety into their own hands.

We are presently governmented to death.

[Snowden]

We are presently governmented to death.

I couldn't agree more, Shooterman. Not just the central government; there are too many "nuisance laws." Laws created to keep the lawyers in business. I know it's one of the things I say too often, but the truth is we must stop sending lawyers to Congress. How this can be accomplished when they are the most prevalent candidates, I don't know. About two generations from now, though, I wonder if any of the freedoms we had as children will be in existence at all.

That's a bit off topic; as buyers, we do have the final word about what we will have shoved off on us from foreign countries. Our corporations enjoy the lower wages possible overseas just now -- we can only get those jobs back, with the quality we want to pay for, if we refuse to buy inferior products. It doesn't take new laws to accomplish that. It only takes care and the will to get what quality we want badly enough to pay for it. Let Mattel and the other corporations sell their inferior products where they may!

[Shooterman]

Originally Posted by Snowden

I couldn't agree more, Shooterman. Not just the central government; there are too many "nuisance laws." Laws created to keep the lawyers in business. I know it's one of the things I say too often, but the truth is we must stop sending lawyers to Congress. How this can be accomplished when they are the most prevalent candidates, I don't know.

Without a doubt, lawyers are one of the banes of our society. As a rule they wind up in Congress more, because they have the money and connections necessary to run.

As stated before upon these fora ( thanks Berggist ) the solution is simple. Line all the lawyers up and have them count off by fours; give each number one a frontal lobotomy; repeat the process a goodly number of times.

About two generations from now, though, I wonder if any of the freedoms we had as children will be in existence at all.

We will not have to wait near that long, Miss Marianne. Hey, though, we'll have SECURITY! In fact we'll have so much security, I'm sure how many citizens engaged in passing wind at exactly 2:07 each morning will be included in the daily Presidential briefings.

That's a bit off topic; as buyers, we do have the final word about what we will have shoved off on us from foreign countries. Our corporations enjoy the lower wages possible overseas just now -- we can only get those jobs back, with the quality we want to pay for, if we refuse to buy inferior products. It doesn't take new laws to accomplish that. It only takes care and the will to get what quality we want badly enough to pay for it. Let Mattel and the other corporations sell their inferior products where they may!

The reason is most simple for the off shoring we have had; GREED!

The eternal greed within the human breast ( or beast, as the case may be ) that is always looking for something for nothing. The monetary woes we are experiencing right now are an outgrowth of that greed.

[Woodmonkey]

Originally Posted by Snowden

I couldn't agree more, Shooterman. Not just the central government; there are too many "nuisance laws." Laws created to keep the lawyers in business. I know it's one of the things I say too often, but the truth is we must stop sending lawyers to Congress. How this can be accomplished when they are the most prevalent candidates, I don't know. About two generations from now, though, I wonder if any of the freedoms we had as children will be in existence at all.

I'm more optimistic.

Our corporations enjoy the lower wages possible overseas just now -- we can only get those jobs back, with the quality we want to pay for, if we refuse to buy inferior products. It doesn't take new laws to accomplish that. It only takes care and the will to get what quality we want badly enough to pay for it. Let Mattel and the other corporations sell their inferior products where they may!

People want it though. Look how many head to Walmart to shop and Walmart is probably the biggest single outlet for Chinese goods in this country. Do they even sell anything made in America?