Don't worry, the Government is in control

I just found something out. I mean it. Just now, like 3 minutes ago. And I HAVE to share it with anyone (all 2 of you) who actually read my blog. Remember all the toys coming out of China that had higher than allowable levels of lead? Remember all the recalls? Well, our government was concerned. Concerned for our children. Concerned for our families. So they decided to do something about it. They decided to pass the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. According to the vote Roll Call, 25 members did not vote, the other 407 members of Congress agreed unanimously that this was a good law and passed it. Only 3 of our U.S. Senators thought it was a bad idea.

What does the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 do? Well, have you heard of National Bankruptcy Day? No? Its February 10, 2009. Coming right up. You see, the effective date of this is February 10, 2009. You know, this act that will protect our children. What happens on February 10, 2009? On that day, all products sold to be used by children under 12 must be tested for lead and phthalates to make sure the product is safe for our kids. Sounds like a good idea, right? The burden of testing is not on the supplier. The burden is on the manufacturer and the seller of these goods. So if you are a stay at home mom and you make some dresses for little girls, you need to test the material for EACH dress you make to be sure it doesn't contain anything bad. Nope, you can't test just once and be done. You have to test each batch you produce. So if a batch is one dress, you have to test the material for that one dress. Children's books? Yep, they have to be tested. DVD's? Those too. So you see, pretty much every single thing that is sold for children must be tested. And the cost to test? Well from what I can see, it's pretty expensive. I've seen numbers online ranging from $300 to $5000. Per test. That's for each product. Pretty much puts every small business out of business. Oh, and this applies to thrift stores as well - resellers must take responsibility for testing unless the "product" is donated along with a certificate stating that the product has been tested. Theories abound that not only will many businesses file bankruptcy, but the cost of products will skyrocket to cover the new cost of doing business. There's a good article that explains things a little better here.

Boy, I'm so glad our government is on top of things and they're protecting our kids. We won't have to worry about our kids having any toys with lead in them, but then it doesn't matter. After this law goes into effect, no one will be able to buy anything anyway. Our economy will be in further turmoil, but our kids will be "safe".