“THE American economy is once again tilting toward danger,” reports the New York Times today.
Despite an aggressive regimen of treatments from the conventional to the exotic — more than $800 billion in federal spending, and trillions of dollars worth of credit from the Federal Reserve — fears of a second recession are growing, along with worries that the country may face several more years of lean prospects.
How should President Obama respond? The NYT editorial board suggests the following:
Mr. Obama also needs to inspire Americans who have been ground down by the economic crisis and Washington’s small-bore sniping. He needs to rally the nation around a big idea — a project that is worth sacrificing for, worth paying for, worth working for. One that lets them know that there is more ahead than just a return to a status quo of lopsided growth in which corporate profits surge while jobs and incomes lag.
That mission could be the “21st century infrastructure,” that Mr. Obama mentioned on a multi-city trip this month, “not just roads and bridges, but faster Internet access and high-speed rail.” It could be energy independence, with high-tech green jobs and a real chance for addressing global warming. Either of the above would make sense, economically and politically.
How about a national clean energy competitiveness and innovation project?
Yes. Advanced nuclear power needs to be the focus. Innovate, demonstrate, manufacture and distribute worldwide. First ramp up Generation III+ reactors, then roll out small modular reactors (nuclear batteries) to retrofit coal burning power plants, and for distributed power in remote and/or population dense areas. Phase in Generation IV integral fast reactors and close the nuclear fuel cycle, eliminating the problem of nuclear waste storage. It’s the only energy future that will get the job done. We developed it first. Let’s take the lead back.