"Recall: train contains lead"

"Recall: flashlight colored with lead paint"

"Recall: SpongeBob is contaminated with lead"

These headlines greet us once or twice each week now, and it may be time to reevaluate our outsourced manufacturing. The simplest explanation for this rash of recalls is widespread incompetence. It's possible that one of the largest manufacturing economies in the world, well known for its ability to produce inexpensive exports with decent quality controls, is incapable of something as easy as not buying lead paint.