Tainted Toys - And Tainted Toy Regulators?
This column was written by CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.
We have heard so many bulletins this year about kid's toys being contaminated with lead. A lot of parents are beginning to wonder if anything in the toy box is safe.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has come under heavy fire and, this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others began to call for the resignation of the agency's acting head, Nancy Nord.
Ms. Nord has been on TV a lot the last couple of months, defending the CPSC -- a tough job because the agency is woefully understaffed, desperately under-funded and hopelessly out of date.
Now comes news in today's Washington Post that Ms. Nord and her predecessor accepted $60,000 worth of trips from manufacturer's association and trade groups. That's right. The top cops for American consumers went to Spain, China and San Francisco paid for by the very people they are supposed to be policing.
Might that not taint one's point of view? Perhaps not any more than the lead paint on a child's toy.
Harry's daily commentary can be heard on many CBS Radio News affiliates across the country.