i m not sure we want to believe it yet, but they re making an effort. first the ftc made an effort and they re actually still in a comment period which will go through the end of january. microsoft has gotten a head start. the expectation is that their next version of their web browser will contain a do not track mechanism that you can turn off the tracker and also another company that has something called firefox that would detect the same thing. rick: you weren t joking at the beginning, but you mentioned all these regulations and that s something that a lot of people get upset about. a lot of conservatives don t want regulation. they feel it stands in the way of growth. it stands in the way of jobs and innovation. but i m wondering about these particular federal agencies that are looking out for us when it comes to the safety of our food and our toys and our everything. i mean, when we re looking to chop and cut spending, which is going to become sort of one of
americans may be doubtful about the safety of certain products that they used in their everyday lives. but in this new year, the feds are planning to beef up consumer protection in a big way. so what do you need to know? here to tell us is patricia powell, founder and ceo of the powell financial group. happy new year. are we going to be safer safer s new year? i don t know, but we re sure going to be regulated a lot more. there will be a lot going on, lot of hoopla coming in. do you want me to start rick: let s start with the testing for lead. i love this one. come february, many of the products that are made for children will be tested for lead. i think this is one of the very best things in all of the legislation because there is no way a parent could know when they re buying a toy whether there is any lead content in it. it s been outrageous what s been going on. this is one of those good areas of regulation. rick: a lot of the toys that we parents buy our kids were made s
our big discussions in this new year, are these agencies, the consumer product safety agency and is this where you cut? maybe. maybe. but maybe also look at the redoundancey. remember i said the ftc is looking at the internet privacy, but so is the commerce committee and another agency. everything they do costs more money. we really only need one agency looking after us perhaps. maybe we don t. maybe microsoft is ahead of this. maybe mosila is ahead of the curve and they ll be creating regulation after the fact. by the way, if i can go back to the food story, from all the hoopla, you would think our food is less safe today than it was ten years ago. rick: and? if you go to the cdc, guess what? the incidence of food poisoning are about 20% less than they were just ten years ago. rick: interesting point. patricia powell, she always has interesting points. again, happy new year. thanks for coming in. thanks for having me. jamie: it s almost every
commitment to the american people. obviously republicans are also worried about the economy and jobs. we saw some goodwill between the two parties during the lame duck session of congress, but that good will may break down when the two parties try to figure out what to do about the government deficit. but in the short-term, they re hoping to get the economy going in the right direction, rick. those two parties are going to start trying to hash it out in the coming days and there will be a whole crop of fresh new republicans with some newfound power on the hill. what are they saying, mike? that s right. we heard from a senator-elect from the great state of new hampshire talking about some core republican principles, namely lower taxes, less regulation, and allowing americans to keep their money. here is her take. the american people sent us to congress with clear instructions. make government smaller. not bigger. and stop spending money we don t have on programs that aren t workin