Mr. Gottlieb Goes to Washington; My trip to the nation’s capital with the “TIA Fly In”

May 9, 2010

I joined with 30 other toy industry leaders last Wednesday to lobby congress about the toy industry’s concerns regarding safety regulations and world trade. It was really an extraordinary experience to join such a fine group of industry people as we met with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, as well representatives, Senate staff and members of the Consumer Products Safety Commission.

Several things struck me as we toured the capital:

1. Where was everybody? Why were there only 30 people present to confront one of the most significant challenges in the history of the toy industry?

2. Why do we leave it to the manufacturers? All of us have a stake in the outcome of government regulation. Whether we are inventors, designers, packagers, retailers or any other participant, we will all be effected by how government intervenes in the toy industry. In other words, we all need to make our voices heard.

3. Government is going to be part of the toy industry’s life for years to come. The days are gone when the toy industry did its thing outside of the scrutiny of government. We are going to have to be an ongoing presence in the nation’s capital.

4. Government really does work differently than business. It may sound obvious to say that government and bureaucracy function very differently than how we do business in the private sector but actually being there really drives it home. What might seem cut and dry to us is highly impacted by politics, pressure groups, money and sheer inertia. It’s a different game and we need to learn to play it or we will get run over like some slow possum on an interstate highway (how’s that for a political metaphor).

So, next time there is a fly in, buy your Amtrak ticket or plane ticket or just get in your car and go. It will be good for you and for your industry.

Read blogs by Richard Gottlieb, Tim Walsh, Mary Couzin, Brian Maggio and Bruce Lund at
Global Toy News
www.globaltoynews.com

Posted by Richard Gottlieb on May 9, 2010 | Comments (2)

May 12, 2010

In response to: Mr. Gottlieb Goes to Washington; My trip to the nation’s capital with the “TIA Fly In”
Lisa O. commented:

It's great that you went to this, Richard, and thank you for sharing your observations with us! I agree with your points!

May 11, 2010

In response to: Mr. Gottlieb Goes to Washington; My trip to the nation’s capital with the “TIA Fly In”
imdave commented:

Just want to go off-topic to lodge a complaint about the advertising practices on this blog page. Specifically the big Schleich ad that scrolls down and sometimes covers your posts. Sometimes it just pushes your post down, but on occasion it covers it. Both are very annoying. I realize that this may be controlled by Playthings, but since it is your blog I felt I should take it to you directly.