CPSIA – TIA’s Toy Safety Certification Program Quietly Dies

TIA Members, please sit down before reading on.

Over the past three years, the Toy Industry Association famously invested millions of dollars in members’ dues in something called the “Toy Safety Certification Program” (TSCP). When I say “millions”, I mean it. On October 14, 2009, TIA outside counsel Rick Locker referred to “$2 million of technology” available to the industry via the TSCP website. He was referring to the cost of the program to date, roughly. The program began in August 2007 – that’s about $1 million per year.

The TSCP recently died a natural death, mercifully. See Carter Keithley’s September 7th release on this topic. I figure the program cost NO LESS THAN $3 million of TIA members’ money, perhaps more, with NO return on investment. A TOTAL loss. Ouch. Don’t expect any heads to roll.

The TSCP was a terrible idea from the get-go. For one thing, the TSCP was a business and the TIA should have NEVER tried to go into business in competition with its members, if only for the reason that real businesses beat dilettantes every time. I believe the business plan for the TSCP was fantastic, if it existed at all in any formal sense. No rational business person would have EVER made such a reckless investment but then again, it wasn’t their money. . . so the bet apparently seemed “reasonable” to the decision-makers.

The basic concept underlying this massive bet with other people’s money was that if the TSCP cracked down on its own members harshly enough, the CPSC might back off and let the industry police itself. The horrific historical analogs must not have occurred to anyone, nor their tragic ends.

The idea of the TSCP was flawed in several critical respects. First of all, the issues that spawned the CPSC had little to do with the standards – the problem was compliance. A program like the TSCP would hardly snare those who were indifferent to compliance – it was VOLUNTARY. Second, the theory required that the TIA be so harsh that the CPSC would let the TIA take over. Of course, this made the TSCP a rather unappetizing vehicle for most of us. And it was VOLUNTARY. We never considered participating.

Worst of all, the TSCP grossly favored the mass market companies in the toy industry. This could not have been a shock to anyone as the authors of the program were largely mass market toy people. I documented this in my October 18, 2009 blogpost entitled “The TIA Just Wants to HELP You!“. The program was going to kill all but a few of us, but that didn’t stop the TIA.

What ultimately stopped the TIA was a lack of business. Apparently, we weren’t alone in disregarding the multi-million dollar investment of our industry organization. Rumor has it that certain large companies committed to using the program but then backed away when it became clear that no one was joining them in this fun. No one likes a competitive disadvantage, apparently. Who’da thunk it?

And the legacy of the TSCP? The TSCP did such a great job of outlining a horrific testing scheme that the CPSC used critical elements of it as a starting place for their “15 Month Rule”. You can trace the harshness of the TSCP through to the pending rule on testing frequency and “reasonable” testing programs. Yes, the TIA provided this leadership – after all, if it’s good enough for the TIA, how could the industry complain?

How, indeed. Pass the barf bag, please.

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CPSIA – TIA’s Toy Safety Certification Program Quietly Dies

CPSIA – Double-Speak Patrol

760 days have passed since ANY Democrat in Congress did ANYTHING to help us on the CPSIA. There are only 51 days left until Election Day.

Consider the following two events:

a. August 2, 2010: The CPSC Commission voted to authorize yet more Mattel firewalled labs (2) and a lab operated by Hanesbrands, a $2.3 billion market cap maker of underwear. [Oooo, lead in underwear! Is this a sick joke or does the CPSC really think kids are chewing on their dirty underwear? Ew!] I believe, without checking, that Mattel now has nine approved firewalled labs, enabling it to save lots of money which is well beyond the practical reach of any small business. The only parties who have thusfar achieved this relief are mass market companies.

b. August 15, 2010: CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum gave an interview with the Baltimore Sun featuring the following exchange:

“Q: How do you respond to some critics of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act who say the law puts heavy testing burdens on manufacturers, especially smaller producers?

A: We have to have high standards to protect the consumer. So regardless if you’re a large business or a small business, we can’t let you put lead in children’s products, or cadmium. Or overlook flammability laws or use other toxic chemicals. We look at what the danger is. We think if we had a small-business ombudsman who was out there regularly educating small businesses, we could help them prevent problems in terms of compliance. Large corporations have a whole office full of lawyers and engineers and chemists and toxicologists. Small businesses do not. And we don’t want to put anyone out of business. We want to help them learn how to comply and sell safe products.” [Emphasis added]

Put side-by-side, these two events separated by only a few days, make clear the utter insensitivity of our government to our plight. The dismissive condescension of Tenenbaum in daring to suggest that an ombudsman would make the problems disappear for small businesses is infuriating. The necessary implication is that we small businesses are just too stupid to understand their complicated rules – I guess she thinks only Mattel can read the English language. Of course, the pending testing frequency rule (which I believe will be implemented in the coming weeks, get ready for it) will cause our company to spend $15 million per annum on testing. This sum far exceeds our profits. Perhaps the ombudsman will help us terminate our people to pay for testing, or provide a shoulder to cry on. And we’ll be crying alright.

At the same time, Tenenbaum is actively feathering the nest of the VERY Big Business that caused the CPSIA, Mattel. How ironic, isn’t it? The fact that she is tilting the children’s market fatally in favor of Big Business doesn’t seem to be a source of guilt for Ms. Tenenbaum. Empty words are the solution.

Please keep this in mind the next time you suffer through the dark intonations of our Fearless Leader laying the blame for the economic problems of the small business community at the feet of the Republicans. The problems in our market won’t be solved with yet another handout – the Dems should try loosening the garrote they are busily tightening around our air passages. Tax relief won’t provide much help when the new regulations makes profit impossible.

Let’s stipulate that the Dems in Congress and at the CPSC are fully aware of the inequities and other problems embedded in the CPSIA. In the face of a continuous and vigorous public debate for two years+, this seems beyond dispute. I am also aware that this blog is widely and loyally read by these people. Ignorance is not a possible explanation. Stubbornness, self-preservation, zealotry, a lack of political will, exhaustion – any of those make more sense to me as an explanation.

I have no outlet for my anger over this. I just hope you are not a sucker for the Dems’ baloney and spinning. Our ONLY hope is a Republican-led Congress that will act to make these people accountable for the damage they are inflicting. The Dems have proven their stripes – to hope they will come to their senses is simply wishful thinking without any basis in reality or fact.

Can you take two more years of this? I cannot and I will not. I need your help, however – you need to vote the scoundrels out of office on November 2. Here is a list of Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee:

Henry A. Waxman, CA
John D. Dingell, MI
Edward J. Markey, MA
Rick Boucher, VA
Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ
Bart Gordon, TN
Bobby L. Rush, IL
Anna G. Eshoo, CA
Bart Stupak, MI
Eliot L. Engel, NY
Gene Green, TX
Diana DeGette, CO
Lois Capps, CA
Mike Doyle, PA
Jane Harman, CA
Jan Schakowsky, IL
Charles A. Gonzalez, TX
Jay Inslee, WA
Tammy Baldwin, WI
Mike Ross, AR
Anthony D. Weiner, NY
Jim Matheson, UT
G. K. Butterfield, NC
Charlie Melancon, LA
John Barrow, GA
Baron P. Hill, IN
Doris O. Matsui, CA
Donna M. Christensen, VI
Kathy Castor, FL
John P. Sarbanes, MD
Christopher S. Murphy, CT
Zachary T. Space, OH
Jerry McNerney CA
Betty Sutton, OH
Bruce L. Braley, IA
Peter Welch, VT

Please help their opponents with cash and labor, and votes. My guy is Joel Pollak, running against Jan Schakowsky. Can you imagine Congress without her? Oh, to dream. . . . His website is www.pollakforcongress.com – please consider supporting his candidacy generously.

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CPSIA – Double-Speak Patrol

CPSIA – Apparently, NONE of Us Knows What We’re Talking About

742 days have passed since ANY Democrat in Congress did ANYTHING to help us on the CPSIA. There are 69 days left until Election Day.

The CPSC just issued its Final Interpretative Rule on the meaning of “Children’s Products”. For those of you with a pile of reading materials on your desk from the CPSC, this delectable morsel weighs in at 63 pages. Add it to the heap.

Good news, however – you don’t need to waste too much time reading it. The time you spent commenting on the prior draft, now THAT was the waste of time. I burned a few hours on that exercise myself – what-a-fool, I will never learn. The REASON you need not waste time reading the final rule is that virtually all comments you (and anyone else) gave were disregarded or discounted. The changes to the rule were minimal or meaningless and there was no reconsideration of the manifold flaws in the “draft” interpretative rule. If you don’t believe me, have fun deconstructing the 63 pages of drivel against all the comments noted and unremarked upon.

So what is the story we should tell ourselves about this little incident? Here’s a few choices for you:

1. Commenting on these rules is a waste of time because the CPSC is tired of the game – they want to get this done, and that means dealing with comments is not in the plan anymore. [Connect the dots with the pending expiration of the testing stay, and you may get a sense of the urgency.]
2. The solicitation of comments is compelled by law but there is no obligation for the agency to accept any of our comments. Since they know best, they no longer care what we think and have decided not to even pretend anymore. It’s a sham process.
3. We’re all incompetents, which is perhaps why we need to have a CPSC so desperately.

I bet it’s no. 3 – we’re all idiots and our comments reflect it. It’s hard to face up to one’s shortcomings . . . but I appreciate the gentleness of the message from the CPSC. Rather than embarrass us by announcing that we business people know nothing, they just politely ignore our ravings.

And think – now that we’ve established that they know everything and we know nothing, processing of recalls and other financially-impactful events with the agency will be much easier. They are right, by definition, and we are wrong, by definition. Simple! We’ll save a lot on legal fees, too, because there won’t be any point in arguing. No, I’m not talking about the PGA. . . .

I love government of the people, by the people, for the people – especially if those people are unchecked regulators!

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CPSIA – Apparently, NONE of Us Knows What We’re Talking About

CPSIA – Tea Party Comments

I received a provocative comment on my recent blogpost on the Tea Party and quote from it here:

“I’ve come on here less and less because the blog is starting to seem less a good source of information and more like a long, angry political rant. If that’s what you want, more power to you. You’ve certainly earned the right to rant. You have the freedom to write what you want and I have the freedom not to read it. If you’re posting this because you care, well yes, I do think you’re alienating quite a few people, myself included.”

This is a fair comment and probably accurate. The blog is angrier and more focused on elections and politics that before. Frankly, I have known for some time that I increasingly lapse into a rant. Why is that?

Here’s the problem – I can’t provide much information to you anymore because there’s nothing much to report. There is a steady drumbeat of ordinary or trivial details from the agency to pass along but the excesses of this CPSC administration have gone on so long that they now bore most people. On a more macro level, the news spigot shut off because (a) the Dems in Congress stopped listening a long time ago and are doing NOTHING to fix this mess, and (b) the CPSC has demonstrated that they are going on their merry regulatory way no matter what we say or think. Time and partisan appointments are giving Mr. Waxman his tacit victory.

So we are stymied. And what tools do I have left at my disposal? Consider what I have already tried: I have employed representation in Washington for now almost two years. The cost of this exercise comes out of my personal pocket. No need to feel sorry for me, but that’s a fact. I have also testified before Congress, I have testified before the CPSC (several times, at their request), I have written numerous comment letters (none of which were answered), I have appeared in endless articles and on 60 Minutes, I have given speeches, sponsored a rally, and yes, given up thousands of hours of my life to write almost 500 blogposts for you (and the CPSC) to read. I have left no stone unturned.

If you had done all this over a two-year period and produced the scant results I had, what would YOU do, Anonymous? Keep mumbling to yourself? Is that really productive? If the problem is as serious as I say it is, then continuing with a losing strategy seems pretty dumb to me. It was Albert Einstein who reportedly said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. It appears that a change in strategy is needed – if we want to produce a different result.

And blaming the parties responsible is appropriate. My readers know I am being honest and candid here. You know where I stand. The Dems are responsible for this mess. They may have had help creating the law in 2008, even the signature of Mr. Bush to close the deal. Then again, when the carnage became clear, the Dems employed the Nancy Reagan “Just Say No” defense in the face of indisputable evidence of their policy failures. The Dems have been a rock of intransigence and indifference for two years now. The Republicans have not. Again, that’s a fact. And the CPSC is being run by Dem politicians who work consistent with the wishes and desires of the Congressional Dem leadership. I am supposed to overlook this? Possibly not notice, look away? That view, if you hold it, insults my intelligence.

These days I have few choices available to me. I can continue to pursue a clearly ineffective strategy and find my voice increasingly marginalized by its irrelevance, or I can work within the political system (as is my right) and find another route to the desired outcome. I hate the CPSIA and I hate what Congress and the CPSIA have done to the CPSC. I cannot abide by this. So now what? Sucking my thumb is not an option. It’s time to get RID of these people. They made themselves a big part of the problem and deserve what they get. After all, the rules of the games were known in advance, and they knew what they were doing.

It’s my right to take steps politically to fix this situation. I hope I don’t lose you as a reader, Anonymous, but if you have better things to do or better sources of information, I trust you will come here less often. My commitment to our employees, customers, suppliers, consumers and other stakeholders remains unwavering and has to come first. I am loyal to them and won’t be defeated by this year’s version of tyranny.

Onward to November 2 and the defeat of the people responsible for this Greek tragedy!

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CPSIA – Tea Party Comments

CPSIA – Turns Out that the Government CAN Assert Preemption

And you thought state regulation of children’s products was a fait accompli, nothing we can do about it. The proliferation of state safety regulations is a major hindrance to interstate commerce and puts small and medium-sized businesses in a very risky position. Who can possibly master the federal system of safety laws and regulations plus 38 states’ own unique versions (plus the EU, plus Canada, plus Japan, plus . . . plus . . . plus)? No one.

The CPSIA addressed this mess by ENCOURAGING IT. The law does not preempt a variety of state laws relating to the safety of children’s products. Among the notable laws so exempted, California’s Proposition 65 is especially troubling. That said, I cannot recall a single word of a single state children’s product safety law that has been preempted by the federal government. It’s the Wild West out there.

Worse yet, this subject is among the many that are “off limits”. In other words, we are advised to keep our opinions on preemption to ourselves for risk of “offending” the controlling Democratic party. The non-preemption of state laws that conflict with the CPSIA, CPSA and policy and regulations of the CPSC are to be tolerated, I guess. We have no say in this. Like so many things nowadays . . . .

Aha, but when the liberals don’t like the action of the states, well then preemption is apparently a viable option. So today the federal government decided to take action against the Arizona immigration law. [I am a minority and am generally fearful of government rules that encroach on protections for minorities. Of course, like most of the media and America at large, I haven't read the Arizona law. So while I am directionally in favor of knocking it out, I freely admit I don't know much about this controversy other than the things I have gleaned from other people's analysis.] So I guess preemption is a viable option . . . if the motivation is there.

The federal complaint makes many compelling assertions about the value and importance of preemption in the case of immigration law . . . and many of these assertions could just as easily be levied against state regulation of children’s products. It will never happen, of course, because that might offend the “public interest groups” behind the CPSIA. Besides, who can trust companies anyhow . . . .

Some pertinent quotes (emphasis added):

“In our constitutional system, the federal government has preeminent authority to regulate immigration matters. This authority derives from the United States Constitution and numerous acts of Congress. . . . The Constitution and the federal immigration laws do not permit the development of a patchwork of state and local immigration policies throughout the country.“

“The federal government, moreover, welcomes cooperative efforts by states and localities to aid in the enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws. But the United States Constitution forbids Arizona from supplanting the federal government’s immigration regime with its own state-specific immigration policy – a policy that, in purpose and effect, interferes with the numerous interests the federal government must balance when enforcing and administering the immigration laws and disrupts the balance actually established by the federal government.”

“In crafting federal immigration law and policy, Congress has necessarily taken into account multiple and often competing national interests. . . . The laws also take into account other uniquely national interests, including facilitating trade and commerce . . . .”

“Because S.B. 1070, in both its singularly stated purpose and necessary operation, conflicts with the federal government’s balance of competing objectives in the enforcement of the federal immigration laws, its passage already has had foreign policy implications for U.S. diplomatic relations with other countries, including Mexico and many others. S.B. 1070 has also had foreign policy implications concerning specific national interests regarding national security, drug enforcement, tourism, trade, and a variety of other issues. . . . Numerous other states are contemplating passing legislation similar to S.B. 1070.”

The Feds have noted that the patchwork of local laws would likely prove highly disruptive to efforts to coordinate a national policy on this topic. They are apparently fearful that the Arizona law will lead to many more just like it in other states. Among other reasons to fear the new immigration laws, local laws can have international implications and can hurt trade. I think I know what they are getting at . . . . Consider the market effects of the noxious Proposition 65 and the truly awful and frightening Green Chemistry initiative oozing forth from California in our direction. The case for this preemption lawsuit is eerily similar to the case for preemption of local safety laws. Unfortunately, we will never get this help unless the Feds decide that the system is so out-of-whack that a lawsuit must be filed. With Dems in charge of Congress who are the blood brothers of consumer groups, this will NEVER happen. Too bad for us.

I feel the federal government’s pain on the Arizona law. Too bad they don’t feel mine.

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CPSIA – Turns Out that the Government CAN Assert Preemption

CPSIA – What Will CPSC Hit Daiso With This Time – Nukes?

Dastardly Daiso, the hapless Japanese chain of dollar stores that probably regrets the day it first heard of the U.S., has been forced to recall yet more items. This recall, their sixth in recent years, involves five items for excessive lead. They are currently under injunction by the CPSC and the U.S. Attorney. Uh-oh.

Excessive lead in kids’ products – that sounds AWFUL, doesn’t it? In the tradition of most modern commentators, I thought I’d write this blogpost without reading the recall notice. After all, I know what it says without reading it, right? Well, at THIS blog, we have standards, you know. My editor INSISTED that I read it.

So I read it, and here are the details. You better sit down . . . the horror of it all . . . there are five items involved: one cloth purse, two pairs of earrings and two necklaces. The total number of units, across all five items, is 190 pieces, or less than 40 per item. And how did dastardly Daiso endanger kids THIS time? “The surface paint on the zippers of the coin purses and the clasps on the jewelry contain high levels of lead.” Whoa! The retail price of these items is about $1.50 each, so the total value of this recall is $285. There were no injuries reported. The CPSC put out a press release so all of America could know how safe they were.

SCIENCE TIME: The presence of lead in the zipper paint and in the clasp does not itself cause any harm. Lead is a neurotoxin, true, but lead must enter your bloodstream to do harm. And if it does manage to get in there (through inhalation of dust or through ingestion of bio-available lead), blood lead levels must rise to a certain point before any harm can possibly occur. Since we all consume lead every day in our food, water and air, the human body clearly can process some lead without harm – it does not simply accumulate. The amount (mass) of lead in these items is probably close to nil. I assert that if you chose to have a meal comprised of only the zippers and clasps from the 190 recalled units (ALL of them), you could not raise your blood lead levels high enough to do damage. AND the impact of lead in blood varies by the age of child. As the child ages, the impact from lead dramatically diminished. This is why Congress chose not to protect my blog readers – they are all adults and out of harm’s way. Lead is principally a problem for the “under 3′s”. The Daiso items are not for children under three, so the odds of harm are excruciating low. And it is utterly inconceivable that one person would eat all of the zipper paint and clasps in this minuscule recall. So, is this a public health crisis? You decide!

Back to Blog Time: Now, let’s think of Daiso and its sorry tale. They have previously been the subject of five recalls of 19 items, totally 698 units, over two years. For this series of “transgressions”, they were whacked with an injunction by the U.S. Attorney against further importing of toys (Tenenbaum: “Now the fine was large, but that wasn’t the big news . . . . We worked closely with the Justice Department on this case, and Daiso has a very high hurdle to jump over to EVER get back in the import business again”). Daiso also was hit with a “get the message” penalty of $2.05 million. This is about $1,000 per unit in penalties for items with a retail value of between $1 and $4 each. That’s gotta get your attention.

So now that Daiso has stepped across the line again, what will the CPSC do? This kind of transgression can’t go unpunished, right? Don’t we live in a society based on retribution today? [We learned it from the Taliban.] Having hit Daiso with a $2.05 million penalty last time, the agency has to set this penalty higher since Daiso obviously is so incorrigible. If the last penalty was $1,000 per unit, maybe the agency should hit them with a penalty of $100,000 per unit to get them to take our laws seriously. Darnit, they CAN’T – that exceeds the maximum penalty of $15 million. Now what?

There’s always jail time. Somebody needs to pay, of course. How can the agency ignore an offense of this scale? 190 units is unforgivable. That’s almost $300 in value! That’s like one iPhone (with a two-year phone contract). We can’t let the people be endangered like that!

They were really good at torture in the Middle Ages – maybe something gory would get Daiso’s attention this time. Capture a manager and have him/her drawn-and-quartered in the public square? The agency could webcast it! There are so many options. The agency needs to do whatever is necessary to keep American kids safe, so I certainly hope they will use their entire arsenal. Waterboarding?

Personally, I am grateful to Congress for not giving the CPSC nukes.

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CPSIA – What Will CPSC Hit Daiso With This Time – Nukes?

CPSIA – A Page Torn from the CPSIA Playbook

The Dems’ Central Command tore a page from Waxman’s CPSIA playbook and, according to the New York Times, is apparently advising Democratic candidates running for Congress to avoid town hall meetings. All the better to avoid feeling the wrath of their constituents, you know, the people they represent. The NYT article reveals the strategy:

“The reception that Representative Frank Kratovil Jr., a Democrat, received here one night last week as he faced a small group of constituents was far more pleasant than his encounters during a Congressional recess last summer. Then, he was hanged in effigy by protesters. This time, a round of applause was followed by a glass of chilled wine, a plate of crackers and crudités as he mingled with an invitation-only audience at the Point Breeze Credit Union . . . . The sentiment that fueled the rage during those Congressional forums is still alive in the electorate. But the opportunities for voters to openly express their displeasure, or angrily vent as video cameras roll, have been harder to come by in this election year. If the time-honored tradition of the political meeting is not quite dead, it seems to be teetering closer to extinction. Of the 255 Democrats who make up the majority in the House, only a handful held town-hall-style forums as legislators spent last week at home in their districts. It was no scheduling accident.”

Here’s the Dems’ genius strategy in a nutshell: last year – hung in effigy; this year – invitation-only, closed door “feedback” sessions. Problem solved!

This master stroke allows the Dems to stage manage a myth, perpetuating the illusion that everything is A-Okay. Of course, this brings to mind Henry Waxman’s refusal to hold CPSIA hearings for almost two years and his staff’s perpetual rebuffing of any criticism of the “perfect” CPSIA. See no evil, hear no evil – therefore there must not be any evil . . . right?

The big question is who will be fooled by the Dems “hiding in plain sight” strategy. Does anyone actually believe that avoiding the people will keep the Dems in control of Congress?

It’s hard not to feel that the Dems think they are ruling us, not governing as our representatives, and aren’t accountable for their actions. It seems the height of arrogance to not stand before constituents and talk about the issues of the day. Perhaps they think we are too dim to remember what we are pissed off about.

Just like the CPSIA. Does anyone remember why we are mad about this law??? Someone needs to remind me . . . .

So the Dems are going to avoid you and your problems. This kind of treatment makes voter anger turn into voter rage. Let’s keep this in mind as we head to the polls. When the Dems are out of office, they can see how they like being ignored.

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CPSIA – A Page Torn from the CPSIA Playbook

CPSIA – What a Job Program!

I have apparently been quoted as “admitting” that the CPSIA is a “job creator”. I wonder what kind of person could so profoundly misunderstand, or intentionally misconstrue, my testimony at the April 29 hearing. Even more to the point, I wonder what kind of saps those people think they are fooling. It really insults intelligence, if you ask me. Other than testing companies, plaintiff lawyers and government agencies, it is hard to find a company or industry that thinks the CPSIA will help them employ more people. The law does not create economic activity – just wastes lots and lots of money.

Quick aside: I find this remark, even if in made in passing, to be bizarre. Is someone really defending the CPSIA by asserting that it actually benefits the economy? The purpose of the law was never to help companies like ours – if anything, the law was motivated by Congress’ absolute malice toward manufacturers of children’s products. The volume of data to the contrary is overwhelming. To portray the law as a generous act of economic stimulus is so far removed from truth as to invite the term “Big Lie”. Inez Tenenbaum was quoted today attempting a similar act of legerdemain when she contended that markets will be lifted by surging consumer confidence under the CPSC’s watchful eye. This recasting of reality is dangerous – if these people ever find anyone they can persuade with nonsense.

For those of you who missed it, I noted in my oral testimony at the April 29 hearing that our QC department grew from one to four people. In addition, we have a CPSC Bar attorney on retainer and work with another Washington law firm on other representation matters relating to this mess. This has been taken as my “admission” that the awful CPSIA creates jobs. Yippee, we’re saved!

I write this blog myself. No CPSIA jobs there, unfortunately.

I testified that our company’s testing costs increased 8x because of the CPSIA, with the prospect of another 3x increase to come after the CPSC lifts its testing stay in 2011. [I get lightheaded at this thought.] We have also seen sharp increases in QC personnel costs plus other frictional operational costs relating to safety under the new law. It’s ugly. We estimate the total annual cost increase SO FAR to be $450,000 for our company. This money has to come from somewhere. We are unable to increase our selling prices in a recession, yet the costs must be recouped. Guess how we did it.

Our headcount records speak to the stimulative effect of the CPSIA. As of July 31, 2008, immediately prior to passage of the CPSIA on August 14, 2008, LR employed a total of 162 full-time team members. After only four months of magical CPSIA job creation, the ranks of our employees fell to 145 by December 31, 2008. By year end 2009, our headcount had shrunk by one more, to 144 people. As of March 31 of this year, after almost 20 months of CPSIA fun and games, we had 141 employees. At least our QC department is growing . . . .

I will freely admit that we are probably creating jobs galore in China where we do all of our product testing. It’s too expensive to test in this country. The reported 8x increase in our testing costs reflects our intense effort to control costs. I have no idea how many jobs our testing created in China. Nonetheless, I am sure Mr. Waxman’s handiwork is stimulating the Shenzhen region nicely.

So is it really fair to say that I “admitted” that the CPSIA creates jobs?

I don’t mind being misquoted or even to have my testimony under oath twisted beyond recognition. It’s not a problem for two reasons – first, no one is being fooled, and second, the truth is obvious in this case.

So guys, if it helps you to misquote me or to attribute absurd “admissions” to me, go ahead. Everyone knows how “stimulative” this law has been. Our Casualties of the Week have documented business deaths attributable to this law for months. The HTA put a list of victims of the law into the record for the April 29 hearing. I have published over 400 blogposts that add measurably to the data on the costs and consequences of this awful law.

The truth is well-known. And the people who twist it are also well-known. And their efforts won’t soon be forgotten – especially when we go to the voting booth in November. Can’t wait!

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CPSIA – What a Job Program!

CPSIA – Decorum

I have received some comments in the last 24 hours that I consider abusive and personal in nature. This blog space is intended to be a forum for discussion of a limited topic, the issues surrounding the CPSIA, its implementation and its administration. I do not attack people personally for their views, although I certainly reserve the right to disagree with the positions, tactics or methods of the various actors in this drama. This is not personal and will not become personal while I am on the watch.

Let’s keep it clean, guys. I do not filter comments to this blog and do not want to. To date, the only comments I have deleted are comments that promote other people’s businesses (generally, these comments promote “adult” businesses) and one comment that I felt was insulting to a Commissioner (a Democrat, as it turns out). Some things are just across the line. I do not want to restrain your ability to comment here BUT if you won’t obey the rules, I will turn on the filter and will shut you down.

Please don’t ruin this for everyone. I will not tolerate personal attacks or other violations of ordinary decorum in this space.

Read more here:
CPSIA – Decorum

CPSIA – Report on the CPSC’s Recommended Changes to the Law

There has been an eery silence emanating from Bethesda over the upcoming report due to Congress on January 15 listing needed changes to the CPSIA. As you know, last week the Commission voted 2-2 to NOT discuss their report in front of you. So we’ll get to see it when it’s final, done and cannot be changed. The People Have Spoken!

Late last week, I published my recommended changes to the law and my list of other changes to process and procedure at the CPSC that I believe are necessary to restore rationality to the safety law governing children’s product safety. It is important that you also express your views on this topic to the Commissioners. There isn’t MUCH time left to influence the Commissioners but it’s worth a try. You are welcome to use my list for inspiration or as a shortcut.

The Commissioners’ email addresses are:

Inez Tenenbaum: itenenbaum@cpsc.gov
Robert Adler: radler@cpsc.gov
Thomas Moore: tmoore@cpsc.gov
Nancy Nord: nnord@cpsc.gov
Anne Northup: Commissioner_Northup@cpsc.gov

Thank you!

Read more here:
CPSIA – Report on the CPSC’s Recommended Changes to the Law

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