Feeling Safer Yet?
Oct 30th, 2007 at 6:14 am by Susie
There’s no question that deregulation doesn’t work, except to give corporations more profits and less liability. For consumers? Not such a good deal. Gee, ya think the Dems will roll over on this one?
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 — The nation’s top official for consumer product safety has asked Congress in recent days to reject legislation intended to strengthen the agency, which polices thousands of consumer goods, from toys to tools.
On the eve of an important Senate committee meeting to consider the legislation, Nancy A. Nord, the acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, has asked lawmakers in two letters not to approve the bulk of legislation that would increase the agency’s authority, double its budget and sharply increase its dwindling staff.
Ms. Nord opposes provisions that would increase the maximum penalties for safety violations and make it easier for the government to make public reports of faulty products, protect industry whistle-blowers and prosecute executives of companies that willfully violate laws.
The measure is an effort to buttress an agency that has been under siege because of a raft of tainted and dangerous products manufactured both domestically and abroad. In the last two months alone, more than 13 million toys have been recalled after tests indicated lead levels that sometimes reached almost 200 times the safety limit.
Ms. Nord’s opposition to important elements of the legislation is consistent with the broadly deregulatory approach of the Bush administration over the last seven years. In a variety of areas, from antitrust to trucking and worker safety, officials appointed by President Bush have sought to reduce the role of regulation and government in the marketplace.
There’s no question that deregulation doesn’t work, except to give corporations more profits and less liability. For consumers? Not such a good deal.
Oh really? Railroads would be dead without it! Type “railroads and deregulation” into google & start reading.
What we have here is the head of a government agency arguing against legislation that would increase the agency’s power, budget and staff: No, we don’t want more authority to help us accomplish our mission. No, we don’t want more staffers to help us do our jobs more effectively. And no, we certainly don’t want more money!
But in the Bush era, through the looking glass is normal.
Maybe we should save some money by firing Nancy Nord.
(Great name, huh?)