Will the Government please hold my hand?

If my audience is fellow parents of small children, then I’m sure you have heard about and acted upon all the recent toy recalls that were prompted by findings of lead paint. I’m glad this has been brought to light so that we can choose to remove the toys from our homes. I’m sure that the manufacturers have had a wake-up call and will be revising their manufacturing and quality control methods (or face boycotts by thousands of angry American moms). This is all good; I don’t want my child to develop lead poisoning any more than you do. I’m even grateful that it has given me a good “excuse” to weed through our toys.
HOWEVER (you knew that was coming, didn’t you?), if I read or hear one more thing about “the government” letting this happen, or “the government” allowing these toys to be sold, or “the government” taking steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again... I will scream.
I don’t want “the government” to decide what toys I can buy and my children can play with. Someone else already gets to decide who and how and when my children get vaccinated, how I can deliver my babies, how I can educate them, and we are on a slippery slope regarding how I can discipline them.
At what point do we just birth them and turn them over to approved nurseries to be fed approved foods and sleep in approved cribs and play with approved toys and educated in approved methods?
How about we a) use some common sense, and b) let the power of free-market do its magic?
I keep reading of people going through their homes and tossing anything marked “made in China”, whether it is painted or not. If you choose to get rid of all Chinese made items, so be it, but be aware that cheap items made in other countries may have the same problems and also that not ALL products that happen to be made in China are poison. React thoughtfully, not out of a lemming-like fear.
If people demand cheapy, nasty toys for a few cents, then that is what we will be marketed and sold. If we demand high quality, worthwhile toys, well, the market will show that too.
I have an even better idea. Instead of pushing for government involvement in yet one more area of our lives, take a look around and see how you can simplify and support small US businesses by buying local, hand-made toys. No, I can’t mass produce a doll and sell it for $7, but I can sew a great quality, handmade doll that I guarantee will outlast your child’s doll playing years and sell it to you for under $25. No, your local woodworker can't mold out 100's of plastic blocks per shift, but he can provide cool toys like this or this. My friend Lisa doesn't produce complete play kitchens neatly wrapped in cellophane, but she does do amazingly cute play food sets .

So I suppose my rant is over, but seriously, think about it. What can we do to act instead of just react?