Just in case you think that it is all a big exaggeration, check out this article written by the author of The Rule of Lawyers and other books, Walter Olsen.
If someone you know volunteers at a thrift store or crochets baby hats for the crafts site Etsy or favors handmade wooden toys as a baby shower gift, you've probably been hearing the alarms about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).
(oh wait, that's me!)
Congress passed CPSIA in a frenzy of self-congratulation following last year's overblown panic over Chinese toys with lead paint. Washington's consumer and environmentalist lobbies used the occasion to tack on some other long-sought legislative goals, including a ban on phthalates used to soften plastic.
The first thing to note is that we're not just talking about toys here. With few exceptions, the law covers all products intended primarily for children under 12. That includes clothing, fabric and textile goods of all kinds: hats, shoes, diapers, hair bands, sports pennants, Scouting patches, local school-logo gear and so on.
And paper goods: books, flash cards, board games, baseball cards, kits for home schoolers, party supplies and the like. And sporting equipment, outdoor gear, bikes, backpacks and telescopes. And furnishings for kids' rooms
And even worse: Since the law does not exempt books, children's' sections at libraries and bookstores will, at minimum, face price hikes on newly acquired titles and, at worse, may have to rethink older holdings.
"Either they take all the children's books off the shelves," Associate Executive Director Emily Sheketoff of the American Library Association told the Boston Phoenix, "or they ban children from the library."
Believe it or not I used to be someone who thought - but our government would never let that happen! I mean - they work for us, right? But in the last 4 years especially I have come to realize that our government might just put their own interests ahead of ours. If we just sit back and do nothing because "surely something like this just couldn't happen", well then, it will! Please - write your legislators today!
Or get used to seeing this:
CPSIA Personalized Birthday Diaper Cover Bloomers and Bib 2 piece Set Custom
$4,268! But hey, shipping is free!
These are pics of Emma helping me stuff and stamp our letters to our legislators.
Two other participants in the blog-in:
http://crunchytown.blogspot.com/index.html
http://brightonwoman.blogspot.com/
1 comment:
So aside from everything else, that's a beautiful picture of Emma. I hope you don't mind if I start following.
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