On May 12, 1998, Danny Keysar, a 16 1/2 months-old toddler, was strangled at his licensed childcare facility in Chicago neighborhood. Danny was killed by a defective children’s product -- a mesh portable crib or play yard -- the Playskool Travel-Lite–where he napped in the afternoons at his childcare home.
GOP members of the House and Senate have proposed a flurry of bills that would roll-back, and in some cases effectively repeal, some of the nation’s most important environmental, health and safety laws.
They are wrapping their proposals in anti-government rhetoric to avoid saying they want more polluted air, dangerous food or unsafe workplaces. But the proposed bills are, in fact, complex, bureaucratic and lobbyist-friendly schemes that mask an assault on public health and safety.
By Donald Cohen. Posted on Huffington Post. April 8, 2011.
Two decades ago Congress directed the EPA to expand the Clean Air Act to control mercury, arsenic, chromium and other air toxic emissions from power plants. Now the House Republicans are willing to shut down the Federal government to make sure that it still doesn't happen.
The Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906 is today remembered as one of the highlights of Progressive reform. In an urbanizing and industrializing era when Americans no longer lived near the sources of their food and in which unregulated patent medicine promised miraculous cures, this law offered an assurance of safety that consumers, no matter how vigilant, could not provide on their own.
By Tim Fernholz. The American Prospect. September 9, 2009.
I've got a story today on how the Chamber of Commerce and other business interests are trying to kill the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency with 'death panel' tactics -- exaggerating the affects of the legislation and making it seem as though it would harm ordinary Americans. But these kinds of moves aren't unusual. In the 1970s, there was momentum toward creating a Consumer Protection Agency that would act, essentially, as a kind of clearinghouse for consumer complaints, rather than an actual regulator with enforcement powers. But as Lawrence Glickman chronicles, its opponents also reacted with outrageous rhetoric:
Another life-saving law
On May 12, 1998, Danny Keysar, a 16 1/2 months-old toddler, was strangled at his licensed childcare facility in Chicago neighborhood. Danny was killed by a defective children’s product -- a mesh portable crib or play yard -- the Playskool Travel-Lite–where he napped in the afternoons at his childcare home.
Read MoreThe Industry Assault on Public Health
By Donald Cohen
GOP members of the House and Senate have proposed a flurry of bills that would roll-back, and in some cases effectively repeal, some of the nation’s most important environmental, health and safety laws.
They are wrapping their proposals in anti-government rhetoric to avoid saying they want more polluted air, dangerous food or unsafe workplaces. But the proposed bills are, in fact, complex, bureaucratic and lobbyist-friendly schemes that mask an assault on public health and safety.
Read MoreBack to the Future: The Cost of Delay
By Donald Cohen. Posted on Huffington Post. April 8, 2011.
Two decades ago Congress directed the EPA to expand the Clean Air Act to control mercury, arsenic, chromium and other air toxic emissions from power plants. Now the House Republicans are willing to shut down the Federal government to make sure that it still doesn't happen.
Read MoreTruth in Labeling: The Current Backlash Against Consumer Financial Regulation Sounds Awfully Familiar
By Larry Glickman, The American Prospect, November 25, 2009.
The Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906 is today remembered as one of the highlights of Progressive reform. In an urbanizing and industrializing era when Americans no longer lived near the sources of their food and in which unregulated patent medicine promised miraculous cures, this law offered an assurance of safety that consumers, no matter how vigilant, could not provide on their own.
Read MoreThe History of Consumer Protection Scares
By Tim Fernholz. The American Prospect. September 9, 2009.
I've got a story today on how the Chamber of Commerce and other business interests are trying to kill the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency with 'death panel' tactics -- exaggerating the affects of the legislation and making it seem as though it would harm ordinary Americans. But these kinds of moves aren't unusual. In the 1970s, there was momentum toward creating a Consumer Protection Agency that would act, essentially, as a kind of clearinghouse for consumer complaints, rather than an actual regulator with enforcement powers. But as Lawrence Glickman chronicles, its opponents also reacted with outrageous rhetoric:
Read More