When it's the nuclear industry, silly:
Canadian taxpayers must continue to finance AECL's commercial business even if the government moves forward with its plan to privatize the nuclear Crown corporation, a report from the C.D. Howe Institute says.Lemon socialism at its finest -- privatize the rewards, socialize the risks. Kind of funny to see the CD Howe Institute come out in favour of further subsidies. Aren't they usually pro-market?
Ottawa would be expected to cover the monetary risk of regulatory delays, both in the certification of AECL's new Accelerated Candu Reactor (ACR) and in environment reviews required for the siting of plants in Canada, says the report released by the business-backed think tank.
At the same time, the government will have to underwrite the research and development costs of reactor design if AECL is to compete with international rivals, whose governments provide significant support for their nuclear companies.
3 comments:
You are so damn right!
I've noticed that for some reason, conservatives in the US turn off their brains when it comes to nuclear power. Even the hardest of hard-core anti-government-in-the-free-market folks come out screaming that the government NEEDS to subsidize nuclear power.
I've never quite gotten why, though. My gut suggests that it's because nuclear power pisses off the Dirty Hippies, and pissing off the Dirty Hippies trumps anything else for US conservatives. I didn't think this was a universal thing, though - I thought it was a peculiarity of US conservatives.
--NonyNony
Y'know, if the private sector isn't willing to take it without a huge raft of conditions, which amount to not being exposed to any serious liability... maybe we should just hang on to the thing. Or is that too obvious for the Cons?
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