A stimulus plan we can all get behind

"U.S. Expected to Own 70% of Restructured G.M.," blared a recent front page headline in the New York Times. We started thinking about this unprecedented turn of events and asked, what if we turned the automaker bailout into an investment in national security? 

The on-going restructuring of the US automobile industry, federal orientation toward public-private partnerships, and the need to re-invigorate our engineering ingenuity point to a possible creative-and patriotic-solution to a current dilemma: re-designing military ground transportation. As the war in Iraq proved, the existing generation of Humvees (HMMWV- High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles) is inadequate for today's international conflicts. The opportunity exists to use competitive bidding and stimulus dollars to assist in the creation of a truly sustainable generation of military vehicles: smaller, lighter, more maneuverable ones that run on alternative sources of energy, with batteries that hold a long-lasting charge, that have non-inflatable tires, and that are resistant to IEDs.

The auto industry rose to a similar occasion during World War II. Chrysler not only built tanks, guns, and airplane parts, but their engineers provided the R&D to improve upon airplane engine designs. Ford built bombers, and Henry Ford Jr applied principles of mass production to produce one B-24 every 63 minutes. GM manufactured tanks and was one of the first firms to apply quality control processes to welding on the line. Each firm responded quickly -in less than a year-under pressure from the US government to react to a world in crisis. They partnered with the government and other industries to provide R&D and manufacturing expertise to solve national security problems.

As the models of the space program and National Science Foundation grants have shown, investment in federally sponsored research and development can lead to new products and innovations for public use - whether it be Tang or Teflon or the development of the internet. With the lure of federal investment, new partnerships will emerge, and the scale of production for the military can help bring down the current high costs of new innovations for private consumers.

Now is the time for the federal government to show creativity as an owner and overseer of an industry. Many branches of government, not just the military, have intractable problems. Challenge our newly acquired firms to help solve them. And turn the "bailout" into a patriotic investment in both the future of our military forces and our nation's economy.

--Steven T. Wray, Executive Director, and Judith E. Tschirgi, Senior Executive Fellow