Evening star., 1962-03-15

WGSSugC u COHyI COS COuug OW
protecting the consumer in
tereSt,'
Consumers, by definition, in
clude us all. They are the larg-
est economic group in the econ
omy, affecting and affected by
almost every public and private
economic decision. Two-thirdS
of all spending in the economy
is by consumers. But they are
the only important group in
the economy who are not ef-
fectively organized, whose views
are often not heard.
The Federal Government
by nature the highest spokes-
man for all the people-has a
special obligation to be alert to
the consumers needs and to
advance the consumers inter-
ests. Ever since legislation was
enacted in 1872 to protect the
consumer from frauds involv-
in use of the U. S. mail, the
Congress and Executive Branch
have been increasingly aware
of their responsibility to make
certain that our Nations econ
.omy fairly and adequately
serves consumers interests.
In the main, it has served
them extremely well. Each sue
ceeding generation has enjoyed
! both higher income and a
greater variety of goods and
! services. AS a result our stand
ard of living is the highest in
) the world-and, in less than 20
years, it should rise an addi-
! tional so per cent,
Fortunate as we are, we nev-
ertheless cannot afford waste
in consumption any more than
Z we can afford inefficiency in
business or Government. If
/ consumers are offered inferior
products, If prices are exorbi-
tant, if drugs are unsafe or
worthless, if the consumer is
unable to choose on an in
formed basis, then his dollar is
wasted, his health and safety
may be threatened, and the ma
( .tional interest suffers. On the
iother hand, increased efforts to
: make the best possible use of
their incomes can contribute
! more to the well-being of most
families than equivalent efforts
to raise their incomes.
Many Old Laws Outmoded
The march of technology
affecting, for example, the
Z foods we eat, the medicines we
Z take, and the many appliances
Z we use in our homes-haS in
& creased the difficulties of the
s consumer along with his op-
!, portunitieS; and it has out
moded many of the old laws
!. and regulations and made new
{ legislation necessary. The typi-
scal supermarket before World
4 War II stocked about 1900 sep
Z arate food items-an impress
sive figure by any standard.
But today it carries over 5000.
$ Ninety per cent of the pre-
s sScriptions written today are for
drugs that were unknown 20
years ago. Many of the new
: products used every day in the
= home are highly complex. The
I housewife is called upon to be
> an amateur electrician, me-
chanic, chemist, toxicologist.
dietitian and mathematician
but she is rarely furnished the
information she needs to per-
form these tasks proficiently.
Marketing is increasingly i'm
personal. Consumer choice is
influenced by mass advertising
Z utilizing highly developed arts
) OF persuasion. The consumer
typically cannot know whether
drug preparations meet mini
mum standards of safety, quail
lily, and efficacy. He usually
does not know how much he
pays for consumer credit:
! whether one prepared food has
{ more nutritional value than an
: other; whether the perform
ance Of a product will in fact
: meet his needs; or whether the
"large economy size" is really q
bargain.
Nearly all of the programs Of
fered by this administration
e.g., the expansion of world
trade, the improvement of med
ical care, the reduction of pas
senger taxes, the strengthening
Of mass transit, the develop
ment of conservation and rec
reation areas and low-cost
power-are of direct or inherent
importance to consumers.
Other Protection Needed
Additional legislative and ad-
& ministrative action is required,
however, if the Federal gov
( ernment is to meet it's re-
I sponSibility to consumers in the
exercise of their rights. These
sright include:
9 /. The right to safety-to be
z protected against the market
ing Of goods which are hazard
Gus to health or life.
2. The right to be informed
Ito be protected against fraud
{ ulent, deceitful or grossly mis-
leading information, advertis-
ting, labelling, or other practices
and to be given the facts he
; needs to make an Informed
choice.
3. The right to cho0se-to be
assured, wherever possible, &C
cess to a variety of product.
and services at competitive
prices. and in those industries
in which competition is MOI
workable and Government reg.
ulation is substituted, an assur
ance Of satisfactory quality anc
service at fair prices.
4. The right to be heard-tc
be assured that consumer in