'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
The killjoys at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are trying to ban a popular toy known as Buckyballs. These are balls made from powerful rare-earth magnets that stick together and can be rearranged into interesting geometric shapes. It's just the sort of thing one would expect to see on the desk of a corporate executive for use as a stress reliever during a boring conference call.
The amount of lead allowed in toys and other children's products sold in the U.S. will soon be reduced to one of the lowest limits in the world. The move was praised by consumer advocates, but denounced by critics worried about job losses and shuttered businesses.
The amount of lead allowed in toys and other children's products sold in the U.S. will soon be reduced to one of the lowest limits in the world. The move was praised by consumer advocates but denounced by critics worried about job losses and shuttered businesses.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission finalized a new rule Nov. 24 that abandons both consumers and safety. Trial lawyers and unscrupulous business competitors, though, made out like bandits. American manufacturers and tradesmen are the ones left with empty pockets.
As Commissioner Nancy Nord lamented in an op-ed column in this paper on Tuesday, the agency's Democratic majority has no interest in conducting a cost-benefit analysis before issuing a decree.
"Just because a material is out there for a jet plane, doesn't mean that it's appropriate for a toy plane," Nord said during the two-hour debate.
