I haven’t heard much locally about the “Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act” going into effect this February but I think that it is of great concern to our local economy and therefore I feel it really is worth mentioning.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (originally HR 4040) was passed as a result of several incidents where large companies/corporations were outsourcing to China which allowed lead to be used in the manufacturing of their products. And, on the surface, passing a bill to “protect our children” by mandatory testing of children’s products may sound like a very noble thing. After all, no one wants to purchase a product with lead in it which may come in contact with their child.

However, what the lawmakers failed to see is how the small business person and other pubic/charitable organizations here in the United States of America would be affected by this new law. Now everything from libraries, thrift shops, used bookstores and used clothing stores (and a host of other businesses/organizations) are faced with the uphill battle of how to approach/combat the problem when the price of the testing often far exceeds the price of the products they. provide.

It seems the only option the lawmakers have left for these businesses and organizations at the moment, is to strip their shelves of product. However, in most cases, doing so will force them into financial ruin.

And, I have to ask, do we really need this when the economy is already on the decline and small businesses/organizations are already struggling, especially when more and more are going to be relying on these small businesses/organizations as the financial times get tougher and the push for supporting a local economy gets stronger?

Not only will this law affect businesses it will affect general public. There are many people (an increasing amount, since the economy is worsening) who rely on many of these small businesses/organizations to provide items to their children which they might not be able to buy firsthand due to the economy.

Many of these shops are also run by charities who support local communities charitably often providing food, clothing and shelter. Clothing for children, more often than not. I have to wonder how it is going to affect them.

Could there have been another solution to the problem posed by these big companies outsourcing to China without regulation? Well, there was a day, once upon a time, not so long ago, when a company’s reputation was its regulation and screwing the customer was not only considered bad business but bad for business.

Not so long ago, when a company did wrong it would lead to the loss of customers, bad press/publicity, a criminal/civil investigation/lawsuit, boycotts and ultimately financial difficulty and financial ruin of the specific company who did wrong.

In my humble opinion, directly holding responsible and punishing the specific company who does wrong isn’t necessarily a bad thing and a much better alternative to punishing innocent people who have done nothing wrong.

It seems like this legislative approach is simply going to create more of a problem than a solution.

Andrea Anderson lives in Lakeport.

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