Political Action in Action

[Jester]

There are other business affected.

Dealers pull mini-bikes and parts

Again they may not be a business killer. Though I did first hear about the story on the radio about a store in Springfield, MO (and I can't find a web link to that one, only this one). The on air report mentioned that one store was worried about going out of business because they had basically carved their niche in the smaller market. As mentioned in that second article, I've heard of some small track owners worried about going under.

Is it the end of the economy? No, not even close, but there are products that folks don't always think about and issues that folks don't always think about and this is one area where I agree that legislation is whacked out.

My views on regulation in general I'm not going to get into, but I'm not a fan of this piece of legislation and it's impacts are more far reaching than people realize.

I suspect mini-bikes will be covered under the exemption for the inaccessability of their parts; I don't think it's reasonable to assume that children under 12 will be taking apart their engines. Likewise with batteries. Paint is perhaps another matter.

As for ordinary bicycles, they may have to replace parts which are over the lead limits, although I'm not sure that's such a terrible thing in the long run. However, invenntory is still a problem, and if the government is going to ban the sale of something, essentially retroactively, they should at least provide tax credits to compensate.

Another thing to watch out for in a year, I suppose. I think Congress is getting earfuls from enough industries that they're already in full retreat. (I'm certain they didn't plan to "advance" to this extent in the first place.)

On the paint angle, now might be a good time to invest in custom lead-free paint shops. <_<

-Jester