Really Pissed Off!

Having a problem as what to buy this year for Christmas? Are those toys safe? How about that clothing you wanted get for the kids, or for that matter, yourself? You’ve just entered the twilight zone of the world economy, and it’s starting to look really ugly. What you’ve saved in cheaply manufactured goods may well have to pay for medical treatment for lead and formaldehyde poisoning!

This is not the first time I’ve blown smoke up the ass of Corporate America. On August 30th, I gave Hell to Mattel for their continuing lead contamination problem. It has continued throughout the fall, as well as possible formaldehyde poisoning from clothing made in China. The most blatant of all has been Mattel, which has had six recalls for potential lead paint poisoning of their children’s products. On top of that, Mattel has had massive recalls on toys, which had magnets that I child could swallow. To actually see the toys that have been recalled, Click Here and you’ll see that most of the items that you’re consider getting your child are posted and looking right back at you. The truth is that the number of children actually injured by dangerous toys has actually doubled over the past year as 40 products have been recalled this year alone, next to 42 over the past 10 years. I’ve given you several websites that have some of the information you need to know when you go shopping for the Holidays. If you passed them by, go back and take a good look at them. You should shop very carefully this year and not be carried away by the Holiday spirit that could injure or impair your child.

Who’s to blame?....nearly everyone! You and I are now paying the price for the huge profits that fuel Wall Street and pour money into the pockets of Corporate America. Going Global has the same result as Going Postal! The prospect of cheap labor for goods sold to you and I have resulted in inferior products being manufactured without any controls as to who made them and how they were manufactured. The American consumer eagerly bought into the Global Economy, as they were promised lower prices. The trap was set to allow nearly all the manufacturing of goods being made in America to be shipped overseas. Corporate America held the bait out and we went for it, with a helping and from the United States government, whose pockets were lined with cash by the lobbied interests seeking the Global Economy. Let’s face it, all of us screwed up! We wanted cheap products and Corporate America wanted more profit. The Global Economy was the “Perfect Storm,” and we will have to ride through it, but it is a lesson learned too late!

There are several things you can do this Christmas. The first is to shop carefully and follow the advise by Rick Newman of U.S. News regarding How To Find Safe Toys – Even From China. There are certain precautions that you, as a consumer, can take to avoid the possibility of purchasing toxic or dangerous toys this year for Christmas. Unfortunately, it’s a crap shoot as far as any guarantee for safe goods, but we all have to live with it. For one thing, you can buy American Made Products and Services and if you click on this website, there are a number of choices for you, as well as other American made products. If you have a computer, you can check what’s made where. I’ve given you a start. The next step is to contact your members in Congress and demand that we have more controls regarding what comes in to this country and how they are manufactured. There are some members in Congress who want to do something about this. One is Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois. However, they are few in number who really give a damn, and it’s time to make you members of Congress accountable. Emails are useless! Write directly to the member of Congress and send it Certified, Return Receipt Requested. You will have a better chance of receiving some attention. Elections are coming up in less that a year, so you have some leverage, especially on your Representative in the House. He or she has to be re-elected every two years. If you don’t do something about it, no one will! After all, they are your children and you have the responsibility to make certain that they are as safe as possible!