Skeptic Project

Look at the Libertarian Funtime Amendment that Rand Paul will be proposing today, eliminating the Consumer Product Safety Commission:

An amendment that Paul plans to introduce Thursday calls for the repeal of seven independent agencies, ranging from the Affordable Housing Program and the State Justice Institute to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The CSPC, an independent agency created in 1972 to protect "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products," has the authority to regulate the sale and manufacture of more than 15,000 different products, including children's toys, swimming pools and all-terrain vehicles. Among the dozens of potentially dangerous products recalled by the agency so far this month are wooden playpens (for choking and laceration hazards), wall-mounted fireplaces (fire and fall hazards), and ATVs (fire hazards).

Paul's staff says that public-interest outlets such as Consumer Reports are fully capable of protecting the public from dangerous products.
That's absolutely correct! Unless you listen to, uh, Consumer Reports:

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is absolutely critical to ensuring the safety of thousands of products in the marketplace. When it comes to product safety, the CPSC is the cop on the beat. We've got to have them. At Consumer Reports we recently did a national poll that found Americans strongly support the federal government’s role in protecting people from unsafe consumer products. The overwhelming majority of respondents – 98 percent – agreed that the federal government should play a prominent role in improving product safety. 82 percent strongly agreed the federal government should require testing by manufacturers of children's products to ensure they do not contain any harmful substances. That's why we have a CPSC, and that's why we need them.
Sure, the CPSC might save your child from choking to death on some toxic toy, but what will you lose in terms of your Liberty? Oh, but that's right, you want the nanny state to prevent your child from choking and your house from burning down, I forgot. Effing statists.