CAN KATHY POSNER HAVE A AMERICAN DOLL?

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KATHY POSNER MAY HAVE TO SETTLE
FOR A
CHINA DOLL
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American Dolls Made In China

American Girl, a line of dolls, books, and accessories based on pre-teen girl characters, is owned by Mattel. According to statistics from the company, “The foundation of the company is dolls (13 million of them have been sold, according to the company); especially dolls that are customized to look like their owners and dolls based on historic characters created by American Girl itself. Huge numbers of clothes and other accessories for the dolls are available, as well as books (117 million sold) and a magazine (with 650,000 subscribers.)” The Chicago Sun Times says, “The Chicago store -- one of American Girl's top two stores nationwide in revenue -- says it attracts 1.5 million to 1.6 million visitors a year, which would rank it as the fifth-most-popular tourist attraction in Chicago, just after the Shedd Aquarium and just ahead of the Museum of Science and Industry, according to data from the Chicago Office of Tourism.” The latest American Girl, “Doll of the Year,” Lanie Holland, can be purchased with an optional accessory, a camper, that sells for $295. The camper, which features a bed, a kitchen and a seating area, is the most expensive of all the accessories any of the dolls have. There is one more expensive accessory, a two-doll storage trunk, which sells for $349, but it's not connected to any particular doll. The thought of someone spending this amount of money on a doll’s accessory either greatly offends you or does not bother you at all. I have no problem with the price because it is the buyer’s individual decision as to whether or not they want to spend their personal discretionary dollars on a toy for a doll. The United States economy is based on capitalism—an economic system of free enterprise. The means of production are privately owned and profits are distributed to the owners. The system is based on individual rights. We do not live in a socialist society where the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution belong to the community as a whole or a communist economy which is a totalitarian form of government in which classes are abolished and property is controlled by the state. In America I earn my own money and can choose how I spend it. With a few exceptions, like car insurance, taxes and licenses, the government does not mandate how my personal money is spent. I earn it and I decide how to distribute it. There is no one holding a gun to my head forcing me to buy a toy for $295. So why do people get upset that a toy is so expensive? A liberal Democratic friend said, “Given the current economic times-- maybe as a corporate brand-- Mattel should have been more sensitive to pricing. “ Again, I ask, “why?” Mattel would not have priced the camper at $295 if they did not think that people would pay that price. And if you don’t want to pay that price, then don’t buy the camper.In light of the recent tragedy of the earthquake in Haiti, there will be people screaming that is unconscionable that people are buying expensive toys for their children; but the two events are unrelated. If the people buying the costly plaything want to splurge their money; remember that it is their money. That is the beauty of capitalism. So I agree with the great philosopher Dr. Suess who said, "Always do what you want, and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind."
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Editors Note: Our good friend Kathy Posner may want a American Doll, but according to Dallas TV station CBS 11, the dolls are made in China. How about a China Doll Kathy?