Mattel Gets a Pass on new lead law

[2dream]

Leave it to the government. Mattel, a major part of the lead in toys recall and part of the reason for the new laws, does not have to have their toys indepentently tested. Yep, they are in charge of their own test.

So we spent how many thousands of dollars for our law makers to pass a law that will only apply to WHO? I guess maybe Fred down the street who makes wooden toys at the county fair. Yeah, lets go after Fred. He sell what? maybe a 100 unpainted toys a year.

And these people will be running our health care. How scary is that?

 

[noobiechickenlady]

I think a nice healthy dose of anarchy would do this country a lot of good. This is ridiculous. The main company involved in the lead contamination is the one getting an exemption???

Guess thats what happens when you have politicians in your pockets.

 

[FarmerChick]

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geusRw0...7/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_product_testing_mattel




Mattel has labs in place. The govt. (thru alot of lobbying of course--but only $1 mil spent) says that their labs are just as good and free from influence as independent labs.

They paid big fines and obviously are going to be on top of this problem now. (Do I agree with all the secret stuff happening out there with big corps....nope...but it will happen in every facet of life).

I hear you but it is not different than any other corporation out there. Big corps mean they can waiver the govt. BUT as long as they have legit labs and legit reasons to be "somewhat" exempt I don't see a problem truly. All big corps get this. So I wouldn't get myself in an uproar. Mattel and Fisher Price are on guard now cause they know others are watching.

Change the govt. and its big corp. ways and I am hoping for that change in many areas.

Do I trust the govt to help change healthcare. Yes I do. Do I rely on them to make it perfect, no I don't.

No one can make anything perfect.

Big corp. scandal is nothing new. Thru decades of admins. nothing has been done.

Eutopia does not exist.

 

[2dream]

FC I seldom if ever disagree with anyone. And don't totally disagree with you on this. I do disagree that any company can monitor itself. Look at the Big Pharm. The fines that big companies pay sound like a lot of money to us. But considering the millions of dollars they make, to them the fines are like us getting a 30 dollar speeding ticket. Why bother passing a law that is not going to be inforced? Again, its the money that talks and the small business that never got fined for doing anything wrong because they did everything right. Now they will be forced out of business because they do not have in house labs to perform these expensive test. If the large companies are foced to follow the law the cost of the test could possibly be reduced in order to make the test more affordable for the small business. I see passing laws that are not enforced as a total waste of time and tax payer money. These in house labs are mostly out of country. How convenient for Mattel? Who is going to monitor the test performed out of country? Someone in India or Mexico maybe?

 

[FarmerChick]

I understand 2dream
When big laws are passed "because" of a major corp. issue----usually the small guy then gets pulled in obviously.

It happens all the time. I know you are ranting---not because of Mattel in general---but over the treatment that big corps. get regardless of the law.

But again, it happens constantly.

You can rant. I rant....we all rant. But unless someone listens what good is it at all? Unless we (you, me and the guy next door) literally stops buying all mattel toys, stops buying "whatever" made from X corp....it doesn't matter.

I am not throwing in the towel against big corp. There are millions out there fighting this type of issue.

Big corps mean monolopy. Monopoly get listened to thru ANY govt.
Not just ours.

Mattel is by far nothing in the worst corps in the world. Just google---worse corporations of the world---and you hit what all the bad guys are doing. from chemical pollution, to assinations, to price gouging, to empire control, to food control......oh my.....and every govt. is allowing this to happen.

So while I understand, I think Mattel having its labs in place and operational, with more watchful eyes should be a better company in the end. Now tackle those corps that control the other areas. They downright kill people with their means to an end. And they do it purposely and willingly and don't care who knows.

In summary for me, what happens with Mattel is small change compared to the "real world" of bad guy corps out there. ALL GOVTS are in someone's pocket.

I don't sisagree with you either. Just from my point of view from the overall mess of govts. out there, this mattel thing is chump change. But while important absolutely, and a pain for smaller business having to farm out, it is the way it is. Do I agree, NO, is it going to change, NO....are those big bad corps out there going to change...NO, are other govts. going to stop the mess...NO

---LOL--just ranting myself---because it all seems pointless almost all over the world!

For all the laws enacted, someone gets hurt and someone gets thru the loops. Just what happens. Is it right, nope. Will it always happen, yup.

 

[2dream]

FC - I KNOW - but darnit. I don't have to like. LOL

My frustration with the government waste and fraud and downright dishonesty seems to be escalating lately.

(Could have something to do with the fact that I have been working on a bid for a Govt. agency for the last 2 months and have seen first hand for the first time just how screwy and inefficent it really is.)

 

[Blackbird]

Doesn't it just make you want to go out and buy a bunch of barbie dolls?

 

[FarmerDenise]

I worked for our city. The waste is incredible. And it is so frustrating.
Government has stupid rules that take forever to change. You have to do things, because it's "the rules". I was not supposed to move my printer from this side of my desk to that side, because it was not in my job discription, I might get hurt.... I had to call someone from computers to move my printer. Which took 2 days to get done and cost more, coz the guy gets computer wages, not admin assistant wages. Go figure.
They have a room full of office supplies, including ones that people no longer wanted, so someone else could use it. At least that was the idea. They had shelves of binders. Yet most of the employees would order brand new binders, every time they wanted a new one. And the supervisors approved it. I got so frustrated, here we are laying people off, but everyone has nice shiny new supplies, while there are plenty of perfectly good ones in the supply room

Big corporation probably helped push this lead testing law through. They'll eliminate a lot of competition that way. Just like with the milk industry many years ago. Now the family farmer with a handfull of cows cannot sell their milk to their neighbors, because they cannot afford to comply with the government regulations, and we are all stuck having to buy agribusiness farm milk.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

**So very, very, very glad that the barbie & the purple dinosaur trends never took hold in my house**

Government & corporate waste may be a fact of life, but we definately don't have to like it.
Money talks, folks, if you don't like what a company is doing, tell your friends, tell everyone you know & DON'T buy their stuff, tell stores you wished they didn't carry those products, tell them why & return every product of theirs you receive. If enough people get digruntled about it, their bottom line will make them take notice.

One good thing I noticed during research. Disney is going to be independently testing all products sold in their stores. No matter who owned the lab where they were originally tested.

 

[unclejoe]

I was not supposed to move my printer from this side of my desk to that side, because it was not in my job discription, I might get hurt.... I had to call someone from computers to move my printer. Which took 2 days to get done and cost more, coz the guy gets computer wages, not admin assistant wages

I had a friend that worked at TMI who did the final inspection of the casks that were hauling out the melted fuel from the accident in 1979. He was not allowed to replace a burned out light bulb in his office because it was a "union job"
I worked for a large corp. that had a tree and lawn care division for 9 months in 1996. Every other Thursday we had "training sessions" at 3:00. It didn't matter where we were or what we were doing in the field, we had to be back at 2:30. On one occasion, we were 45 minutes away from the office. At 1:45 we packed up all the gear, cleaned up the yard, and headed back. The next morning we drove 45 minutes back to the job to do about 30 minutes worth of work, and then drove 30 minutes back towards the office to the next job. What a waste of time.
In that 2 hour "training session" we spent nearly half of it debating the maximum number of times the phone should ring until it could be answered.
They ended up selling the tree and lawn division in 98 because it wasn't profitable. DUH!!!