Since the early days of the industrial revolution, America has developed several laws and regulatory authorities to protect the rights of workers and consumers. Books like Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” helped to expose these abuses and the unsafe foods that were being produced. Today, I believe that most Americans take for granted that our food and consumer products are safe. Then along came free trade and globalization.

I used to be a supporter of free trade. My belief was that we would lose some jobs but it would be temporary. As world trade expanded, I thought, a large world wide middle class would appear bringing more wealth to the world, increased trade, and eventually more jobs back to the U.S.

Now it seems that globalization has allowed corporations that were once held in check by regulations, to go back to the practices of the early 1900s. They seek out countries where they can get cheap labor, child labor, and avoid such nasty things as over-time pay, disability insurance, vacation, health insurance, etc. Or they will try to use illegal immigrants in this country for the same reason.

It seems that another advantage of this globalization is to create or by buy products that are not under the watchful eye of federal consumer protection agencies. Look at recent headlines about imports from China . Wheat gluten that contains a cheap but toxic chemical that has killed our pets, and endangered some of our live stock, toothpaste that uses a poison found in anti-freeze, defective tires, and children’s toys that contain kerosene, it is easy to blame China since it is their products. But what about the American companies who imported the stuff? They are making a lot of money importing unsafe products that apparently are not being inspected like they might have been if they were made in America . I think the American companies should also bear responsibility for the junk that they are importing.

Maybe the federal government needs to setup a more aggressive organization for inspecting foreign imports to make sure they are safe for consumers. Of course the cost of such a program should be covered by a tariff on all imported goods.

- Thomas Paine 2

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