Green Legacy for Detroit's Big Three

[yop]

What if we used auto companies' legacy costs as an incentive to build more environmentally friendly vehicles? Each year, the car companies could compete for the highest fleet gas mileage. The federal government would cover the winning companies' retirees' healthcare costs.

All major automakers, foreign and domestic, would be eligible, but the incentive would be far greater for Detroit, since their retirees' healthcare costs are far, far larger. Detroit has several times more retirees, and Detroit's retirees are covered by Detroit and not by the Japanese or German national healthcare systems.

The taxpayers are going to end up stuck with the bill for Detroit's legacy costs in a few years anyway if something isn't done. Why not provide the Big Three with an honorable way out and do something good for the environment and our energy security at the same time?

[Lasher]

1. Why not just provide single provider healthcare for everybody?

That way we would all be winners.

[yop]

2. That would be nice.

But a national healthcare system is facing awfully long odds against it for the foreseeable future.

In the meantime, in the many intervening years before we get such a national healthcare system, years during which Detroit's Big Three would likely be forced into Chapter 11 without some sort of intervention, we can use GM/Ford/Chrysler's problems to push them in a direction that is better for all of us.

This could be the catalyst for Detroit to develop, build, market, and actually sell plug-in hybrids and zero emission vehicles. Since their gas mileage is so much better than any purely gas-powered vehicle, plug-in hybrids/electric vehicles/etc. would have a huge effect on average fleet mileage.