China: The High Cost of Cheap Junk

Authorities have found yet another inferior slave-labor product from Communist China that was imported to the United States and has turned out to not only be below-par in quality, but also may be hazardous to you and your family's health and safety. An AP Impact report out today states that Chinese-made drywall brought into the U.S. by builders "gives off fumes that can corrode copper pipes, blacken jewelry and silverware, and possibly sicken people."

Import records show that over a four year span, 500 million pounds of the tainted drywall was installed into over 100,000 homes, including some houses rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina. The drywall emits a very foul "rotten egg" odor that gets worse as temperatures and humidity rises. The product has left some homes uninhabitable. Five states and the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission are investigating. Property owners have nowhere to turn.

A U.S. Congressman from Florida has introduced a bill that would ban Chinese-made drywall until more is known about the chemicals used in its production.

This is the latest in a long line of hazardous, Chinese-made junk that has made its way into the U.S. due to the insatiable American demand for cheap consumer goods. You get what you pay for. Read the labels and do some research before you buy. Buying American now may not only save a job, but save a life, too.