I blame Wal-Mart for this

Here's a comment by Chris in Paris from AMERICAblog:

It's almost as though the effort in the 1970s to remove lead from paint had never happened. Industry, always looking for a way to cut corners and make an extra few pennies, is either absolutely stupid or they are just are simply despicable. If they didn't know they were buying lead-tainted products that would be sold to children, they should have known or else this calls into question their ability to properly run a business. It also raises yet another example of industry failing to self regulate and begging Congress to step in and provide guidance.

When businesses outsource production to the cheapest provider, what do they think they are receiving? Just because China doesn't care about safety regulations, that's an issue for China that will have to be addressed within their own country. We should expect a lot more from our own country, both in terms of regulation as well as minimum quality standards. The recall of 600,000 toys is not the first and will not be the last such recall and it's clear that the US is going to have to step up the regulation of what is being sold. Just because the GOP wants to live in another era where anything goes doesn't mean we have to accept it.

Wal-Mart has demanded impossibly low prices from its suppliers and then other retailers have followed suit in order to compete. I don't think they're stupid. I think they're "simply despicable."