How the system works
Now, you folks know by now I’m not really one to gratuitously bash big corporations. However, neither am I prone to blindly proclaiming them the sentinels of liberty and a friend to all, as some folks do. In fact, I’d say that, too often, they aren’t so very different from the federal behemoth they’re frequently in collusion with; two sides of the same coin, one might say. Case in point:
WASHINGTON – Toy-makers, clothing manufacturers and other companies selling products for young children are submitting samples to independent laboratories for safety tests. But the nation’s largest toy maker, Mattel, isn’t being required to do the same.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission recently, and quietly, granted Mattel’s request to use its own labs for testing that is required under a law Congress passed last summer in the wake of a rash of recalls of toys contaminated by lead. Six of those toys were produced by Mattel Inc., and its subsidiary Fisher-Price.
The new law sets strict limits for lead, lead paint and chemicals known as phthalates. It mandates third-party testing for companies, big and small, making products geared for children 12 and under.
“It’s really ironic that the company that was a principal source of the problem” is now getting favorable treatment from the government, said Michael Green, executive director of the Center for Environmental Health in Oakland, Calif.
Ironic, to say the least — and disgraceful, and fishy as all hell, too. You might remember this post from last week, wherein this travesty was first mentioned around these parts. At the time, I was kinda hoping for a cite for the statement Suzie Lang made at the end of her letter — while at the same time kind of forlornly hoping she might have somehow misspoken. Well, so much for that; I shoulda known.
It’d be nice if these corporate crooks would refrain from making it more difficult for the advocates of free-market capitalism to make the case for it. But as it stands, all the crony capitalists really do is remind people that now and then, even the most blockheaded liberal has a worthwhile point. Ed wraps up:
People like Suzi Lang have to pay laboratories to certify their hand-made products contain no lead or phthalates, which she already knows because she handpicks her materials. Thrift stores have to either test products for resale or confirm that they have not been recalled, on an individual basis. But the company that caused the biggest problem that led to the CPSIA gets a waiver. How convenient…and unjust.
Yep.
- Entries
The great myth peddled by the left is that the biggest corporations are on "our" side. Some of the more doctrinaire less thoughtful lefties probably believe that. A quick check of political donations shows that claim to be bogus, as does an examination of how often these corporations get involved in drafting legislation. They don't want a "level playing field" unless they can be the only ones on it.
The folks most commonly labeled as "capitalists" are anything but - they are statists. So long as they think they can pull the strings and levers from behind the scenes, that is.