Obama moves

Barack Obama is thinking outside the box.

Trying to jump-start gains in auto fuel efficiency after decades of
inaction, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is proposing an unusual swap for the Big
Three U.S. carmakers: Washington would pay some of Detroit's multibillion-dollar
health costs in exchange for it making cars that get higher gasoline
mileage.
The federal government would pay 10 percent of the $6.7 billion in
annual health costs for retirees that are weighing down General Motors, Ford and
Chrysler if they'll commit to building more fuel-efficient cars, Obama proposed
in a speech last week before a panel at the National Governors Association
conference. He called it a ``win-win proposal for the industry.''