We'll figure that out later

The nuclear power industry is abandoning its long-held position that a permanent nuclear waste disposal site must be approved before a new nuclear plant can be built. Now that energy prices are high and the administration in the White House is friendly to nuclear power, the industry is ready to move ahead. But, as usual, the great believers in the free market want handouts in the form of subsidies and insurance guarantees. (No insurance company in its right mind will insure a nuclear power plant without a government guarantee or legal limitation and right now that limit for payouts is $560 million.) This quote from The New York Times piece cited above shows that the industry is quite matter-of-fact about its desire to spread its costs to the public at large:

A spokesman for the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry's lobbying group, Steven Kerekes, said, "We believe it's the government's job to find a solution, whether that be Yucca Mountain or somewhere else."

I wonder if the nuclear industry will also be eager to spreads its profits around to the public as well. I kind of doubt it.

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