James Fallows, writing in The Atlantic, says he has no idea how to protect your kids from the lead in Chinese-made toys.
No family without its own metallurgy lab can reliably tell safe toys from risky ones. This is a useful reminder that while market forces are marvelous, they’re not the answer to all problems. (Let’s spell it out: a strictly market-based answer would mean waiting to see which kids got sick, hoping parents could figure out why, and assuming that their knowledge would guide future parents’ purchases.) Public health regulations, enforced in both China and America, are a crucial part of the answer.
Regulations! Government is the answer!
Quite the straw man he set up there. Waiting around for kids to get sick is not the only strictly market-based answer. How about parents deciding not to buy Chinese-made toys while their kids are in the few years of risk for exposure? Once your kid is past the point of sticking random things in his mouth he’s safe. You can’t get lead poisoning from paint if you don’t at least lick it. So parents of infants and toddlers just give up Chinese toys for, at most, four or five years.
There would be a dip in Chinese toy sales. That would pressure Chinese toy makers to clean up their act. And what’s the name for that pressure? Hmm?
Regulations are fine when they reflect reality. That would include regulating the lead content of paint on children’s toys, obviously. He’s right, it’s only part of the answer. But crucial? Debatable.
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