CPSIA – If The CPSC Goes Out, Do You Think They’ll Come Back???

With the Federal government about to shut down, one wonders – could we possibly live without the CPSC for a few days? I, for one, would very much like to find out. But what about the CHILDREN, you say. It’s a horrifying thought. After all, with annual expenditures of north of $100 million per hyear and in recent times an obsession with children, the CPSC has managed to uncover one death allegedly tied to lead (swallowing a jewelry bangle) and three injuries tied to lead-in-paint over an 11-year period from 1999 – 2010. That’s what you get for regulatory expense of more than $1 billion – four alleged injuries. Value for the dollar . . . . In the last couple years, though, the federal government in its infinite wisdom has chosen to pass all regulatory cost increases on to YOU. Yes, in a new innovation making rising taxes obsolete, Congress raised YOUR costs by billions each year when it inflicted the CPSIA on America. I have previously presented an analysis based on Congressional testimony that estimates those costs at more than $5.6 billion each year. And I think that’s low. I know you’re probably not a statistician, but what are the odds that lowering the ten-year results from four alleged injuries to zero alleged injuries would be considered statistically significant? I believe the answer is zero or very very low. $5.6 billion a year doesn’t buy much, does it? The scale of the threat was explored in a revealing moment yesterday when the infamous Rachel Weintraub of the Consumer Federation of America was asked by four different members of Congress for names or lists of victims of lead-in-substrate. She couldn’t name any. Dana Best had no chance to answer such questions, because she bolted before questioning. I rather doubt the members were much in the mood to accept an answer of “jillions” anyway. I haven’t had a chance to review the tape yet, but I understand Ms. Weintraub assured Congress in response to these queries that lead is a “silent” harm-doer. Rachel says there;s no way to tell . . . so I guess the implication is that we should assume millions of kids have been harmed. Possibly bazillions. Who knows?! Has anyone considered the possibility that the injured children that only Ms. Weintraub and Dr. Best can see are IMAGINARY? Consider this argument: Rachel and Dana and their ilk have had three years to find a victim, any victim, at any time since Hector had pups. They have failed in this endeavor. Maybe Rachel and Dana didn’t try, maybe they don’t care. After all, they probably thinks they’re right and who are we to challenge either of them. No response required. . . .. But IF Rachel’s right, why don’t the numbers yield up MANY victims? It really shouldn;t be hard to find injured kids – which makes the failure to do so all the more galling. There are lots of children in the regulated age group – more than 50 million. That population is constantly changing because kids “age out”. So if you look over a decade, say, you might be talking about 75+ million. What do these kids do? What all kids do. They play, they breathe, they eat, they ride ATVs, they lick bicycles, they suck on the ink end of pens, they consume fistfuls of rhinestones, the usual. Some of them oddly do extreme things. You are looking at a BIG population. Over a decade, that’s HUNDREDS OF TRILLIONS of product interactions, some of them excessive. And yet there are no known victims. Hmmm. Perhaps this is a pretty low probability event. And not worth $5.6 billion a year in excess costs. So when the CPSC goes out, will anyone notice? That;s a good question. It may be an experiment worth running. And if the world doesn’t come to an end without them, perhaps Congress might find something new to cut when life gets back to normal. There’s no safe level of fear mongering, guys. Your Friend, The “Lead Doser”

Read more:
CPSIA – If The CPSC Goes Out, Do You Think They’ll Come Back???

CPSIA – Fear of Zippers

I have been tossing and turning about zippers ever since the April 29 House hearing. Perhaps you recall Steve Levy’s demonstration of why thousands of pairs of pants and jeans were thrown away under the CPSIA to make you so much safer. As you know, you can’t place a price tag on safety. Burn, baby, burn.

In response to questions by Ranking Member Whitfield, Steve Levy discussed lead in zippers at about the 47 minute mark in the testimony video. He noted that zippers are made of five to seven components, one of which has been found to have trace lead amounts in excess of current limits. The component in question is not accessible (it’s sewn into the crotch of the pant) but since the CPSC can reach the component with a probe, it is considered violative. Fabric is not considered a “barrier” to access under CPSC rules. Bummer, that’s thousands of pairs of pants into the garbage.

Self-appointed “Safety Czarina” Rachel Weintraub was quick to object to the horrors of Mr. Levy’s jeans: “The problem is, unfortunately, that children mouth zippers all the time. You know I have three young children. My oldest child who is almost six, he mouths zippers as well. . . . The problem is that children interact with clothing in dynamic ways.” This Rachel-speak is the version of “common sense” that imbues the CPSIA. Perhaps you recognized the valuable insights.

Whoa! Children are so “dynamic” with their clothes, this little zipper could be zapping IQ points every day. Wow. I am quite a worrier as you know, so I have been fretting about zippers almost non-stop for a month. After all, we clothed our children in pants with zippers since they were born (many years ago). I can’t detect any missing IQ points in my kids, but of course, I am not nearly as smart as Rachel Weintraub or the other safety zealots perhaps as a result of my wearing jeans to this very day. Still, I could not ignore Rachel’s serious warning but needed to better understand the danger.

So we asked a four-year-old volunteer to suck on his jeans zipper. Here’s what happened. Don’t worry, no IQ points were killed or harmed in the making of this video.

WARNING: The following video contains dramatic footage of a four-year-old attempting to suck on his jeans zipper. Such graphic footage may not be appropriate for everyone. Please think carefully about watching the video if you are a member of a consumer group.

Read more here:
CPSIA – Fear of Zippers