Pauls Ponderings-December 13, 2007
Dec 14,2007 00:00 by Paul B. Hayes
Christmas is fast approaching, and that means for those of us who have not done their Christmas shopping, we’d better be getting on the ball.
It seems like a lot of folks start doing their Christmas shopping earlier and earlier each year. I know some people that, if they’re not done with the shopping by Thanksgiving they almost go into a panic mode. I also know that merchants start promoting Christmas a lot earlier than they used to do. I can remember not that many years ago when it wasn’t until after Thanksgiving that all the Christmas merchandise displays starting appearing. This year, I saw Christmas decorations and “specials” in stores before Halloween.
As for myself, I don’t go into panic mode with my Christmas shopping until around the 22nd or 23rd of December, and I can usually be found out looking for something on Christmas Eve morning. In some instances, this helps out. If you’re shopping for a present and you really have no idea exactly what you’re shopping for, having a limited selection and limited time makes the decision to buy something easier.
One thing that I’m glad I’m not having to shop for this year is a bunch of toys. (Although I have two small great nieces, I don’t intend to buy them toys. They have more than they need, and I try to give something a little different.) One reason I wouldn’t want to shop for toys this year is it’d be hard to determine which ones are safe or if they’re going to be recalled.
The list of toys that have been recalled is a long one. All you have to do to find this out is go on the Internet and hit a recalled toy site or two. Of course, most of the toys that have been recalled were made in China, and most of them have been recalled because they contain lead paint. But, some have been recalled for far more dangerous reasons. Some kind of tiny beads (AquaDots was one name they were marketed under) were recalled because they were coated with a liquid that’s about the same as the “date rape” drug GHB. Kids that licked or swallowed the AquaDots (which they’re not supposed to do, but a kid is going to be a kid) went into comas.
The fact that practically all the recalled toys were made in China is not surprising, since about 80 percent of all toys sold in the United States today come from there. The reason – China is the cheapest place our giant, money-hungry corporations can buy them. Protecting young children from harmful things such as lead paint that may be found in toys takes a back seat to the almighty dollar for most of our behemoth companies. Apparently, China has little or no regulations concerning the manufacture of toys that might be dangerous (although some reports say that the country is trying to do better), and while our own government has countless regulations concerning dangerous or hazardous toys, somebody, somewhere is not doing a good enough job of inspecting what is being brought into our stores.
But, toys are just the tip of the giant problem facing our country and it’s economy. And, as long as the dollar is the only thing considered on the bottom line, the giant corporations keep getting bigger and more powerful, and the rich keep getting richer and the poor poorer, it’s going to continue to remain this way.