Does this seem fair to you? Toy manufactures skate by for years using cheap foreign labor that we now know do not implement the most rigorous of safety testing, and instead of maybe taking a tiny bit less profit on the ol’ P&L, they have instead decided to punish the consumer by raising prices:

NEW YORK (AP) — American consumers will be bearing the cost of safer toys, but not until after this year’s Christmas season. Shoppers can expect price increases up to 10 percent next year to pay for increased vigilance by toy makers and stores after more than 3 million lead-tainted toys from China were recalled worldwide since June. That means a $6.99 Barbie doll could go up to about $7.70, or a $70 child friendly digital camera could retail next year for almost $80

A 10 percent average increase would be the biggest one-time price hike in toys in several years, analysts say. And it’s more than twice the government’s measure of consumer inflation of 4.7 percent during the first seven months of this year.

Can you say hubris?

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