Govt in Action

Here's another reason I am worried about our government and its actions. And although I understand the need for such laws, can we just settle down a bit and think things through? Apparently, the EPA has deemed it necessary to prohibit the distribution of children's toys after Feb 10 that have not been certified lead free. This includes, and is not limited to, toys, books, clothes, crafts, shoes, etc. What does this mean to us?

All used book stores, including ones such as Goodwill and thrift stores, can no longer sell books. They cannot give them away. They may not hand them out. They must be destroyed. Libraries will be affected. They have books on their shelves that have been manufactured prior to this date. The may no longer "loan" them out. Stores and businesses, physical and cyber space, may no longer sell books or curriculum. Any one who sells children's items online may no longer do so. Basically the government is limiting the rights of it's citizens to have a livelihood because it didn't control the products that were made outside this country and shipped in.

I understand the need for free trade. I understand the need to have good relations with other countries. But when those countries are polluting our country and it's citizens for years and years and we have a very precarious relationship with them to begin with, was this problem not foreseen? When farmers are paid to not grow crops so we can import them from countries that pollute their own to grow these crops and are not held to standards, do we not see a problem with this? Our government has turned a blind eye, and so has most of this country.

Jobs are outsourced to other countries to pay less wages and up the bottom line. Yet, the factories that make the goods, answer the phone calls, and grow the crops are not held to the high standard that America is. And the reason for that is the all mighty dollar. And we let it happen.

We let it happen by not paying attention to those that are supposed to be looking out for us. They are looking out for us. They are looking out to see if we have caught on yet. And have we? Have we not seen the need for new representation? Have we not seen the need to police our own?

There is a petition at ipetitions.com to sign that will show that we do not want this new mandate. Or that we do want the government to open it's eyes and see how crazy this is to destroy books. It costs $500-$1500 to test the books for lead. Probably with a test that the government approved. Destroying the books will only pollute the air, the ground water, the land fills or somehow add more to our over taxed ecosystem. But, according to the EPA, it's more important to destroy them. Read the petition and decide for yourself. Maybe it's right for you, maybe not. But at least give this some thought and maybe some action.