How can the CPSC get rid of all their onerous and needlessly costly safety regulations without a chairman with lengthy experience lobbying for the very companies stuck under the CPSC's thumb? The short answer is, it can't. Since the last Commission chairman stepped down in the summer of 2006, the CPSC's executives have been unable to convene a quorum, and so has been left stuck in inactive limbo for almost a year.
Now, with Bush's nomination of Michael Baroody, executive vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, to be CPSC chairman, they can get back to the important business of business: eliminating regulation, defunding oversight, relying on profit-maximizing, voluntary self-regulation by industry, and helping people learn important lessons of the market economy like, "If you wanted non-poisonous jewelry for the kid, amigo, you should've paid more than a quarter."
The JPMA wouldn't want it any other way. If you would like it some other way, though, the links below may be of interest to you. Baroody's Senate confirmation hearing is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, May 3rd.
Tell Your Senator To Oppose Nominating Guy Who Hates Product Safety As Head Of Product Safety [consumerist.com]
The Wrong Person for the Job: Consumer Groups Express Concern about Nominee to Head Consumer Product Safety Commission [citizen.org pdf]
