Another Example of Government Protecting Us From Ourselves

Retraction I don't get it wrong too often, but when I do, I want to correct my mistake immediately and prominently. In my February 9 newsletter about the English resolution in Macomb County, I erroneously stated that the "CEO of the Macomb Chamber of Commerce has threatened a recall of Harry Awdey." I have since been made aware that no such threat was ever made. I apologize to all of you for giving you incorrect information. One of the core principles is integrity. I would never want to lose that with my readers. Jack's web site Track your legislator's voting record.

Read it and weep, kids.

As a former legislator, I can tell you from first-hand experience, too often bills are signed into law that later are discovered to have "unintended consequences." Here is an example from Washington.

 

Congress Strikes Again!

Dirt Bikes are Now Illegal for Kids Under 13 Years of Age

One of the "core principles" of limited government is the concept of individual responsibility. We must be left alone to make sound decisions for our families and businesses. But the "do-gooders" in Congress do not believe you have the brains to make decisions for yourself. They want to pass legislation to protect you!

Last year the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was signed into law. The title sounds great, doesn't it? Who would be opposed to improving product safety? The unfortunate reality is that members of Congress just don't think about the impact of their actions. In a classic example of unintended consequences, the government has shut down an entire industry.

One of the key intents of the CPSIA is to prevent children from ingesting lead. Quoting from the CPSC "Starting on February 10, 2009, consumer products intended for children 12 and under cannot have more than 600 parts per million of lead in any accessible part." There is one product in particular that is manufactured and marketed expressly for kids under the age of thirteen that exceeds the limit: off-road dirt bikes.

As of February 10, it is illegal for a child to ride one, or for manufacturers to ship them, or for dealers to sell them, or, for that matter, for consumers to even own one. A multi-million dollar business has been shut down. Across America, thousands of families who used to enjoy good, clean recreation as their children raced and participated in events with these small motorcycles have been stopped dead in their tracks. Track owners are suffering, too.

What Congress has done is bad enough, but in a time when jobs are disappearing by the minute, do we really need to shut down tracks, dealerships, accessory retailers, etc?

The bottom line is, government needs to leave us alone to run our own lives. We, the people, have the common sense to know when a product is safe for our children, and even when we don't, government is simply not bright enough to figure it out and save us from our own foolish decisions.

If you would like to take action and let Congress and the Consumer Product Safety Commission know what you think, you can go to this web site to register your opinion.