My Plan For US Auto Industry: Let US Nuclear Industry Consume It

Here is my plan for the defunct US Auto Industry and the corporate executives with their hands out: Let ‘em starve!

That’s right. Forget them.

I can’t remember the last time I turned on CNBC and heard about GM having a good quarter or Ford hiring new workers. Instead all I hear is more layoffs, more losses, more crying for government support.

One forgotten ideal of capitalism is that it is not the place of government to decide what businesses live or die.

So what do I propose?

First: Fire every CEO and high level executive of US automakers!  They get no severance, no pension, no nothing. Somehow I doubt they will starve. These guys basically suck at what they do and I, for one, will not pay for their incompetence.

Second: Do nothing. In the event that American automakers are somehow able to adapt and overcome the situation then good for them. Otherwise, it’s in everyone’s best interest to let bad businesses die.

Third: Instead of Hundreds of Billions of dollars fed into a doomed industry, redirect some of that money and loan it to the United States Nuclear Industry. This money will be in the form of government loans (not handouts) to US Nuclear Companies to cover 80% of the cost to build new nuclear power plants.

Fourth: What about all those poor laid-off autoworkers? Spend a small fraction of that stimulus on training to become the next generation of nuclear workers. These autoworkers are already skilled labor with experience operating machinery in an industrial environment. With the right training these skills can be put to good use for the nuclear industry.

There is a well-known shortage of labor in US nuclear. There has not been a new plant built in the US in thirty years and thus a large percentage of current nuclear workers will retire within the next 5 to 10 years. A revitalized nuclear industry will require a massive infusion of manpower (also known as new high paying jobs). A new government funded training program combined with an influx of personnel from the auto industry could fill this void.

Fifth: We need electric cars.

While the autoworkers are training in nuclear and building new nuclear plants, the US auto companies can go back to the drawing board. Through decades of rhetoric about electric cars I am yet to see one decent vehicle come out of Detroit and into production.  If what is left of the US auto industry cannot design a practical electric or hydrogen car, then let the Japanese or Germans have our marketshare.

By the time anyone can produce a decent electric car, there will be enough cheap electricity coming from the new nuclear plants to charge the batteries.

The Cost:

1.  $200 Billion in government loans for construction to be repaid after 10 years of plant operation. This will be enough to pay for 40 new nuclear plants (80% of total cost).

2.  $10 Billion in training and other assistance/relocation programs to aid in the conversion of the workforce.

3.  20-25 Years

The results:

1.  No government handouts for the auto industry – tax payers save

2.  New power plants – energy independence

3.  New jobs – no one goes out of work when the Automakers go under

4.  Energy Independence – we are no longer reliant on foreign oil because our cars are electric

5.  Environmental Stewardship - Nuclear energy is a zero carbon source meaning no more polluting coal power plants and no more polluting automobiles

6.  Economic Stimulus - Construction of new plants, new jobs, and high tech cars are all good for the economy.

7.  National Security:  We are no longer financing terrorists by exporting hundreds of billions every year for that light-sweet addiction we call oil.

Image Used in this Post

Assembly Line in Detroit Historical Museum image courtesy of Flickr user harry_nl published under the CC license.

~Man Overboard