Has U.S. clock buying gone cuckoo?
Friday, June 2, 2006
Printable FormatChicago Sun-Times Editorial
For many years, a large number of blind people have been able to support themselves in this town by making clocks under the auspices of the Chicago Lighthouse. They have done so with the help of a federal law -- one that first required federal agencies to purchase clocks and other goods made by the blind when they were competitively priced, met quality standards and were punctually delivered. The law later included items made by people with other serious disabilities.
But as the government has decentralized its procurement, various federal agencies with stretched budgets have seen fit to ignore the law -- the Javits Wagner O'Day Act -- and buy clocks and other goods from China and other cheaper sources. On its Web site, the Government Services Administration even advertises clocks made by Lighthouse competitors.
Due to a precipitous drop in federal contracts, the Lighthouse has had to cut workers' hours from 40 to 30 hours a week. If the trend continues, jobs for which there are no real substitutes will have to be eliminated altogether. Sen. Barack Obama has reasonably urged federal purchasers to abide by the original rules. A Senate committee is slated to review and perhaps recast the implementation of this legislation. Let's hope their work is done quickly. For the blind, quite literally, time is of the essence.