Taxpayers Footing the Bill for Useless Safety Campaigns and Recalls

Snow has blanketed the country, and web searches for snow blowers have increased sharply this winter season. And, unbeknownst to many, taxpayer dollars are being used to give unwanted and unhelpful advice on how to use these handy machines. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is on a mission to educate the masses on snow blowers (and countless other gadgets), even when a quick search on YouTube will more than do the trick. Unfortunately, this is not the first time the CPSC has made a mockery of consumer protection on the taxpayer’s dime. Maybe it’s time for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Congress to do a full agency recall on the CPSC once and for all.

Bureaucrats at the CPSC are convinced that Americans don’t know how to clear snow off their yards and driveways. The agency has a social media campaign depicting the machines as vicious sharks, and a previous chairman even filmed an informational video on the dangers of snow blowers. As is the case with virtually any product or tool, there are some injuries associated with snow blowers. The winter technology causes 1.9 injuries per 100,000 people in the U.S. per year, about a third of the injury rate from DIY use of power tools such as drills and half the injury rate from using paints.

But, if people are determined to ignore countless videos put out by news organizations, health centers, and tool review channels on YouTube, chances are they aren’t going to be swayed by a CPSC video with less than five social media “likes.” The CPSC regularly goes beyond its lackluster informational campaigns and pushes for recalls of what it sees as dangerous products. For example, the agency announced a recall of thousands of snow blowers on February 6 because of a purported ”laceration hazard” that resulted in precisely zero injuries. The CPSC had previously ordered a recall of thousands of snow blowers in 2023, even though, once again, zero injuries were reported. Product recalls and regulatory compliance costs don’t come cheap, especially for small businesses. Yet, for all the disruption to businesses and consumers, CPSC bureaucrats can’t seem to put a dent in injury rates.

Product safety alarmism doesn’t end when the seasons change. In July 2024, Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) sent a letter to the CPSC warning of the deadly menace of … flying beach umbrellas. The lawmakers wrote, “with millions of Americans enjoying our country’s beaches, lakes, and rivers, it is vital that beachgoers are safe from dislodged beach umbrellas. Improperly secured umbrellas can result in death or serious injury.” They noted that yearly umbrella-related injuries are around 3,000, a drop in the sand bucket compared to the more than 180 million Americans that visit the beach every summer. 

The injury numbers will tend to overstate the problem because the CPSC doesn’t distinguish between beach umbrellas and patio umbrellas. Even before taking that into account, there’s less than a .001 percent yearly chance that beachgoers will get injured by an umbrella, making sitting on the beach no riskier than the car ride over to the beach (especially for DC drivers heading all the way to Rehoboth). The CPSC could choose to be the voice of reason and reject these dubious concerns. Instead, agency bureaucrats wasted taxpayer dollars suggesting new umbrella safety specifications and spreading fear in bold red headlines.

Lawmakers and the DOGE should critically examine the CPSC’s $150 million annual budget to determine how much is being spent to safeguard against truly-dangerous products. In the meantime, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance Foundation will submit Freedom of Information Act requests to determine how much bureaucrats are spending on failed recalls, social media campaigns, and…beach umbrella design. It’s time to keep taxpayers and consumers safe from the CPSC’s costly mission creep.