U.S. stuck on gum trade

It's time to blow a few bubbles in Singapore.

The island nation announced last week that it will allow chewing gum to be sold once again, but only through pharmacies.

The decision stems from a new free trade agreement between the United States and Singapore that required a whole lot of lobbying from Congress and American gum makers.

As we try to make Iraq safe for democracy or at least our American troops stationed there, it's reassuring to know that our federal lawmakers have time for important issues like the gum trade.

No doubt, our gum-chewing economy will get a boost from the new trade deal, which is expected to take effect later this year.

Singapore outlawed the import, manufacture and sale of chewing gum in 1992, complaining that wads of chewed gum were wrecking the city-state's neat pavements, buildings, buses and trains.

This would never have happened if Singapore had embraced baseball. No self-respecting baseball player could survive a game without chewing gum.

No doubt, a lot of Americans canceled their Singapore travel plans when the ban was implemented.

I know we never would have even thought of visiting such an anti-gum country. It would have been patently un-American.

My daughters, Becca and Bailey, can't even imagine such a place.

They view gum as an essential food group.

Singapore officials aren't nearly so enlightened.

They initially agreed to allow gum to be sold only with a doctor's prescription, but that didn't satisfy U.S. trade negotiations who stuck to their guns and presumably blew a few big, pink bubbles at their counterparts across the table.

At any rate, Singapore finally agreed to allow gum sales without a doctor's prescription, but only through pharmacies.

Pharmacies will be allowed to sell dentist-recommended gum that, Singapore officials explain, aids "dental and oral hygiene." I can see it now. Kids will be flocking to drug stores for the gum and every gum will be advertised as the dentist's best friend.

The whole episode shows just what Congress can do when it thoroughly chews over an issue.

Lawmakers know that expanded gum sales can only help boost an American economy that's in need of some solid, sticking points. It's the kind of thing that could get us stuck on American pride again.

Speaking of getting stuck, Joni and I found that putting together a new basketball goal at our house wasn't as easy as it looked. Two minutes into the project, we got the wrong two metal poles wedged so tightly together that we couldn't pry them apart.

We didn't gum up the works. The black metal poles just wouldn't budge, even when we enlisted the aid of a friend who brought over his tools.

In the end, we decided it would be easier to drill another hole so the poles could be made to fit together without having to use high explosives.

Our goal is to get the basketball goal installed before they start actually chewing gum in Singapore in a few months.

Meanwhile, we can all be thankful that we live in a nation committed to making the world safe for gum lovers everywhere. No one should want to burst that bubble.

Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.