If the U.S. auto industry wants a bailout, let us respond by offering to foot their health care bills. The U.S. auto industry is at a comparative disadvantage to foreign auto companies because they pay for part of employee (including retired employee) health insurance. This dollar figure has grown far faster than inflation for over a decade. If the U.S. government offered to include all auto industry employees in its government employee health care pool (this is Obama's plan for national health care), it would not only take a huge weight off of Detroit's shoulders, but also benefit the US by serving as a proof-of-concept for national health care. The success of the plan will take a lot of wind out of the sails of the anti-national healthcare lobbying groups (who derailed Hillary's proposal in 1993).
It's a win-win idea!
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