What a Crock of Sh*t... A Load of BS

So there is this new law going into effect on Feb 10. The end of consignment shops. The end of small boutiques. The end of clothing from Goodwill or Salvation Army. Some reading on the subject: LA Times Wall Street Journal The concern over lead... which is a valid concern in the appropriate arena... is going to be crashing a portion of US businesses. WTF??? From WSJ: Bob Glenn, president of Kipp Brothers, an Indiana-based importer of toys and gifts, estimates it would cost his company $200,000 to test the $1.25 million of goods involved, which would "greatly exceed" the company's 2007 profit. From LA Times: The regulations also apply to new clothing. That won't be a problem for large manufacturers and retailers, industry experts say, but it will be a headache for small operators such as Molly Orr, owner of Molly O Designs in Las Vegas.Orr has already produced her spring line of children's clothes. She says she can't afford the $50,000 it would cost to have a private lab test her clothing line, so she's trying to sell her inventory at a steep discount before Feb. 10. After that, she is preparing to close her business. I went to the Molly O website and then found her blog. Her items are truly deeply discounted. The hairbows are in my price range but that's about it. Even with the discounts. But please spread the word... I'd also love to know of other boutiques, designers, and consignment shops that are facing this problem and having to slash prices, rid themselves of inventory, and potentially shut down. This is insane. It's like a bad dream. I suppose this is the time to contact your Congressman and express your concern about local businesses shutting down... about Goodwill programs ending due to lack of funding due to lack of sales... about your own budget becoming more strapped as you can no longer shop resale or consignment, can no longer sell your child's gently used clothing. And this feels like something a lot bigger than just toys and clothes. This is the government infringing on the possibility of achieving the "American Dream." How can someone make ends meet with their own business if they have to pay expenses far greater than their profits could ever be?? Let the government audit these products independently. Maybe lead is a bigger problem than I'm willing to admit. Part of me also thinks that if we would focus on more US manufacturing... had more controls in place to audit our own products, had our fingers in our own processes rather than relying on the claims of a foreign manufacturer... maybe we wouldn't be in this place? I don't claim to have answers. And is it horribly wrong of me to desperately want to seek out other "Molly O's" for my own personal desire to find great bargains?