god says:

I worked on the MCHR project trying to get lead paint banned in the United States. It only took a decade or more for recognition of the medical research + all the jive of moving Congress beyond “important” commitments to American paint manufacturers. Much more “important” than kids’ health.

Present-day business sense tells me the Chinese government will run right past our track record – whether it’s food quality, consumer safety issues in manufactured products, whatever. The liaison between business and government in China is grounded in growth – not defending creepy bastards whose businesses are in defensive mode.

That doesn’t lessen the need to push for quality and safety – any more than the historic precedence of economic growth over political structure takes away from keeping your finger in their eye over liberty and democracy.

Leave the populism and Cold War rhetoric to the politicians who get paid for it.

chuck says:

But lead paint is the most delicious kind of paint!
Won’t somebody think of the children?

OvenMaster says:

If Mattel’s Chinese suppliers continue to ship toys with lead in the paint, and the U.S. importer (Mattel itself) keeps having to recall all these toys they’ve bought under contract, the stockholders are going to start selling en masse. Then the Chinese can come in and buy up what’s left of the name, shut down any remaining U.S. and Mexican manufacturing plants, and then move ALL the production to China, getting rid of the U.S. middleman for maximum profit.

Remember, people. Go short on Mattel stock… You heard it here first!

ethanol says:

Jägermeister (#6),
Too funny!!!!! Thanks for the early morning laugh.

Angel H. Wong says:

#13

As the quality of life in China improves so is the demand for better salaries, which is why some jobs outsourced to China have been reoutsourced to Vietnam.

As for the barbie dolls.. You might want to get some of these recalled toys just for the collectible value.

OhForTheLoveOf says:

As anyone who bought an American car in the 80s well knows, American made is not the same as quality built, just as Chinese made doesn’t necessarily mean made crappy.

Anger at China for acquiring so much of our manufacturing sector is understandable, but not really justifiable. The American worker was fucked by the American stockholder, the American big box department store, the American CEO, and even the American consumer.

Okay, so today I’m blaming America first. Sue me. I’m a liberal. I’m also right. Greedy conservative Ayn Rand worshipping believers in unfettered capitalism with no sense of social responsibility conspired to commit anal rape on the American worker.

That’s what makes the Reagan revolution so insidious. He wasn’t about making America great for Americans, he was about making already rich Americans richer for the privileged class.

This notion that the Chinese just make crap is bull. In China, some goods are well made, some are bad, and corruption occurs. Just like it does in The United States.

Anonymous Coward says:

My girls had all the Barbies and their dog would chew the arms and legs off. We ended up with several wheelchair Barbies and a few more Barbie amputees. We had landmine Barbie and in the extreme case, double mastectomy Barbie. It wasn’t a pretty sight!