Again, it's "for the children..."

The economy is tanking. People are losing their jobs. More and more families are turning to charities and thrift stores to get by.

So naturally, government leaps into action with high-minded rhetoric... and virtually ensures the destruction of many thrift stores:

It's not the economic downturn putting Douglas' Me 'n Moms stores in danger. It's a new child product safety regulation that takes effect Feb. 10.

After widespread recalls of toxic toys, Congress last year passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act -- its effort to keep lead-filled items away from children. The law dictates that all products sold for people 12 and younger -- including clothing -- be tested for lead and phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more pliable. Items that haven't been tested will be considered hazardous, whether or not they contain lead.

That means most of the items -- slightly used clothing and toys -- in Douglas' stores will be considered hazardous. For many business owners, like Douglas, the regulation is a surprise. On Monday, Douglas was gathering information about the new law and trying to sort out her options...

The scope of the regulation hasn't been truly understood by many business owners, who still believe the law applies only to children's toys, Baillie said.

"It affects books, clothing, toys, crafts -- everything," she said.

All this was prompted by lead found in multiple products imported from China. Rather than deem every consignment store product guilty of lead poisoning until expensive tests prove them innocent, why not put the onus on the Chinese to get their house in order? You know why--they hold so much of our debt we can't tell them anything anymore.

Trying ineptly to solve one problem, government is now poised to create more: closed businesses (what was that about saving jobs, O Chosen One?), reduced choices, and the inability to live frugally with abundant secondhand items. (Not to mention the possibility of the Yard Sale Police raiding your next spring cleaning event) What's more, only large corporations--like China's--are likely to be able to afford the mandatory testing of their products, which will perversely give them a larger market share than they had before. Yeah, that sounds like government at work. Way to go, guys!