The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Fewer children’s products recalled in 2018, study shows

The number of children’s products and the total number of those products recalled in 2018 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission declined more than in any year in the last decade, according to a report by Kids In Danger, a children’s safety advocacy organization.

The report reviews 2018 recall data from the commission, which show a reduction of activity at the agency. Fifty-two children’s products were recalled in 2018, down 44 percent from the 93 recalls in 2017.

“It is tricky to say whether low recall numbers are a good thing – pointing to safer products – or a sign of lax enforcement, leaving dangerous products on store shelves and in our homes,” said Nancy Cowles, executive Director of Kids In Danger. “Indicators this year, such as less effective actions in lieu of recalls and fewer findings of design defects in the recalls that were announced, make us worry it is the latter.”

The report, “A KID Report: 2018 Children’s Product Recalls,” shows:

Today is International Women's Day

International Women's Day, March 8, is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

International Women's Day has occurred for more than a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. Prior to this the Socialist Party of America, United Kingdom’s suffragettes, America’s suffragists, and other groups campaigned for women’s equality.

This year’s theme is Balance for Better. The IWD website explains the theme this way:

Claire pulls kids’ makeup containing asbestos from shelves after FDA tests

Claire, a mall chain store, is removing from shelves three talc-based products — eye shadows, compact powder, and contour powder — that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said earlier this week contain asbestos. Claire’s said it’s doing this "out of an abundance of caution."

FDA test results confirmed the findings of a U.S. PIRG Education Fund study last year that discovered asbestos in Claire’s compact and contour powders. Talc is a substance that sometimes contains naturally-occurring asbestos, and Claire’s said it was "also removing any remaining talc based cosmetic products."

"While we are relieved that children will no longer be able to buy three asbestos-containing cosmetics at Claire's, we urge Claire's to take stronger action with these products,” said Kara Cook-Schultz, toxics program director for U.S. PIRG Education Fund. “Many consumers still have these dangerous products on their shelves at home. Parents and kids should be informed about the problems with the makeup they purchased."

The FDA is advising consumers not to use these products.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

How are you doing saving for emergencies, college, and retirement?

The American personal savings rate is at its lowest level since the U.S. financial crisis in 2008, at 6 percent of disposable income, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and is continuing a 60-year downward trend line.

America Saves Week, Feb. 25 to March 2, is a good time to evaluate your short- and long-term financial goals and figure out how you can save more.

Monday, Feb. 25: Save with a plan

Savers with a plan are twice as likely to save successfully for items such as retirement and their or their children’s education. During America Saves Week, create a savings plan when you take the America Saves Pledge for a chance to win up to $750.

Not much time left to get ready for the Academy Awards Sunday

Fortunately, my daughter urged me to start watching movies earlier this year. I usually wait for the list of Academy Award-nominated movies before I begin my marathon watching. I review the top movies every year to see if there’s a reduction in the amount of violence, ageism, and sexism in the latest movies. I think movies, like television, are too violent, and consumers need to take action to reduce the violent images that bombard children.

I’ve seen almost all of the movies with the most nominations. Last night, I saw the documentary short subjects. All were very good.

I have several foreign language films to watch: “Capernaum,” “Cold War,” and “Never Look Away.”

EPA’s plan to regulate harmful PFAS chemicals is too little, too late, environmental group says

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a plan Thursday to regulate PFAS chemicals, which includes making a determination by the end of the year about how the harmful chemicals should be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act and listing them as hazardous substances to aid in cleanup efforts.

PFAS, short for perfluoroalky and polyfluoroalkyl, are a group of highly fluorinated chemicals used in nonstick cookware, fire retardants, oil and water repellents, furniture, carpets, waterproof clothes, take out containers, and fire-fighting foam. The chemicals are very persistent in the environment and in the human body – meaning they don’t break down and they can accumulate over time.

EPA’s PFAS management plan would only make the nationwide crisis of pollution from fluorinated compounds worse, according to the Environmental Working Group. It wouldn’t stop the introduction of new PFAS chemicals, end the use of in everyday products, alert Americans to the risk of PFAS pollution, or clean up contaminated drinking water supplies for an estimated 110 million Americans.

Best Presidents' Day sales this year

Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day sometimes fall within a few days of each other, so sales covering both holidays often are offered.

Presidents’ Day is a big sale holiday, and it’s a good time to stock up on home goods, electronics, and clothing.

DealNews offers the following list of what to expect from Presidents’ Day sales this year:

Education Department fails to adequately supervise student loan servicers, federal watchdog says

Student loan debt is now the second largest debt in the United States with only mortgage debt higher. And, since 2013, most people aren’t able to discharge their student loan debts through bankruptcy.

That’s what makes a report from the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education, which is highly critical of how the department is handling federal student loan servicers, disturbing. A loan servicer is a company that handles the billing and other services on a federal student loan.

In an audit, the inspector general found that Federal Student Aid, an office of the department, hadn’t adequately supervised student loan servicers.

Baby boomers suffering through the cold

When the polar vortex hit the Midwest, I felt sorry for people there, shivered, and was thankful for the mild weather we have in the Seattle area.

Now, with a snowstorm hitting here, I’m really shivering. I can’t wait for it to melt and get back to our warmer, gray drizzly days.

Despite the cold weather through most of the nation, baby boomers are continuing to blog. This week’s articles include:

EPA report for 2018 under Trump brags about saving polluters $2 billion, while falsely claiming to protect children’s health

The Environmental Protection Agency’s 2018 list of accomplishments contains policies that make it easier and cheaper for polluters to pollute, while painting a distorted record of protecting children’s health.

In acting EPA chief Andrew Wheeler’s Year in Review, topping the list is pushing through “13 major deregulatory actions, almost one a month.” Since the beginning of the Trump administration, according the report, the EPA “has finalized 33 major deregulatory actions, saving Americans almost $2 billion.”

The report needs explanation, said Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook.