CPSIA – Come On, Sean, Get Real!

Sean Oberle took issue with my analysis of the Summer Infant recall of baby monitors tonight in an essay in the Product Safety Letter. In my recent blogposts, I noted that sale of the Summer Infant baby monitors can’t be resold without their kit of the label, the new instructions and the clips. True fact. As a practical matter, this is essentially a ban of resale of this item because in the REAL WORLD, resale shops do not have the time to lavish on researching this kind of nonsense.

Does ANYONE think a resale shop is going to verify that a baby monitor has the right sticker on it? What planet are you from? They WILL, however, note that this item has been recalled. In the mist of time, the reason WHY it was recalled will be long forgotten. Again, who has the time to figure all this out? Maybe Sean Oberle and Scott Wolfson, but the rest of us won’t do it.

That the items can somehow be resold legally is simply a technicality. Ask any resale shop.

As for my “confusion” between the “reason” for the recall and the “remedy”, I believe I was not confused at all. For one thing, the supposed “remedy” is no remedy at all. A warning label about the cord is superfluous by any definition and absurdly ineffective to prevent further harm. The “reason” for the recall has nothing to do with a hazard related to this item. It may relate to a proactive step recommended by the company’s lawyers, given the likelihood that they have been sued over the two unfortunate accidents. I stand by my position that this hazard falls into the category of parental supervision, not a product “defect”. I may not be alone in this view, to judge by the hundreds of comments on this MSNBC article.

More fantastic is Mr. Oberle’s characterization of the recall and how “voluntary” it was. I have no person knowledge of this situation, so perhaps he is right. Then again . . . rumors of CPSC coercion on this kind of thing are rampant. Threats of penalties, preemptive press releases and possible litigation have been rumored in many cases. Ms. Tenenbaum is not above sabor rattling in speeches, either. Think of last year’s ICPHSO keynote speech, for example. We have received at least one threat from the CPSC which I have thusfar restrained myself from discussing in this space. It’s very real. “Voluntary” is in the eyes of the beholder.

I must also say that I don’t see the benefit that the CPSC brings to this party IF the recall was “voluntary”. If this was REALLY the company’s idea, why does the CPSC have to sign off on it? Why is the CPSC in a better position to figure out how to best resolve this informational issue? After all, Summer Infant had 1.7 million reasons to get this right (plus an unknown number of lawsuits). I don’t buy the idea promoted by Mr. Wolfson in the Chicago Tribune’s hyperbolic article on pool drains: “CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson declined to comment on AquaStar’s actions. In general, though, he said: ‘A company is not allowed to take unilateral action that is intended to fix a safety problem with their product without reporting and coordinating that action with the CPSC.’” Scott, where does it say that, precisely?

Even more to the point, why is this a “recall” anyhow? The CPSC could have avoided the entire issue by labeling this event an “alert”. There would be no implications for resale shops had they chosen that path. Was it REALLY the company’s idea to RECALL these items? Were they offered an “alert” but refused? Oh, sure.

At some point, I hope the CPSC will take more responsibility for its actions, rather than justify whatever they choose to do. Mr. Wolfson may have an answer for everything but that doesn’t make the agency’s actions right, fair or appropriate. The many comments on the MSNBC article indicate that no one is being fooled. Recall upon recall upon recall is alienating the public, NOT making them feel safer.

Come on, Sean, get real. The CPSC can raise its game, and as a member of the Fourth Estate, you can push them in that direction. I am not the enemy here.

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CPSIA – Come On, Sean, Get Real!

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 – Waxman Amendment Mark-Up CANCELLED for Today

In the wake of a private meeting between Henry Waxman and Joe Barton this morning, today’s mark-up of the Waxman Amendment 2.0 (Consumer Product Safety “Enhancement” Act of 2010) has been CANCELLED. It had already been pushed back to 2 PM EST for a supposed “scheduling conflict”. The content of the Waxman-Barton meeting is not known, however Mr. Waxman has been adamant that he would not proceed with this bill if there was ANY opposition. At a mark-up, the opposition has the right to introduce amendments. This is what Mr. Waxman intended to avoid. Perhaps that was not longer in his control, which may have led to the cancelled mark-up session.

What are the next steps? It’s not certain at this point. There is an agreement in place between the Dems (Waxman) and Republicans (Barton) that ALL bills will pass through mark-up and subcommittee prior to committee consideration. IF this agreement is still being observed (no exceptions), then this bill only moves forward AFTER a mark-up. If there will be no mark-up session that features amendments, then this bill may be on life support in its present form. That suggestion is based on too many assumptions to set out here, but that may be the reality.

Another possibility is that this meeting featured a much stronger push for a hearing. Believe it or not, our pain and suffering has been noted. In addition, the evidence of insanity set in motion by the noxious CPSIA is mounting. Rumors swirl that a real legislative hearing may come next. Don’t hold your breath . . . but it’s possible. Real companies telling about their real issues.

The legislation, which I strongly oppose, has garnered the support of several key corporate players, like the ATV industry, the bike folks, the mass market retailers (no need to shed a tear for them anymore, I guess) and even little HTA. Some of them have practically gushed over these meager gains, perhaps haunted by the threat (implied or otherwise) that to spurn this attempt is to get nothing. No one wants to cut their nose off despite their face. This is how we compromise ourselves to hell, frankly. I remain opposed to a defective and unworkable legislative scheme that reduces our regulators to paper pushers, our financial statements to shreds and elevates our tort lawyers and safety testers to unknown new heights – all without making a MATERIAL positive impact on children’s safety.

Please spare me the retort about falling recall rates. That really isn’t the right metric. After all, we could all go out of business and recalls would fall to zero. A squeeze induced by sabre-rattling regulators wielding big penalties can cause a lot of “reform” at huge expense – but produce no results.

The right metric is injuries and deaths. Has the handiwork of Mr. Waxman and Ms. Tenenbaum led to statistically significant lower injuries and deaths? Well, my statistical analysis of lead-in paint recalls in a 25-month period from January 2007 – January 2009 showed 125 recalls (an all-time high) . . . and one injury, no deaths. That’s what we are trying to improve upon. And if anything has actually changed since then, what did it cost? Do our markets function anymore? Under the CPSIA, there are already about 2500 pages of rules for companies like ours to master, implement and obey. Wait until I summarize the so-called “15 Month Rule” for you – the children’s market is on a death march to oblivion.

Until the CPSIA is restored to sanity, we are facing a terrible end. Everything about safety in children’s products has been fouled by the CPSIA and the pending amendment, the new “enhancement” cooked up by the Dems, is completely off the mark. We can only hope that members of Congress with the courage of their convictions and a dash of common sense will continue to push for rationality in our safety laws and regulations. That’s our only hope.

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CPSIA – Waxman Amendment Mark-Up CANCELLED for Today