It's not the "cheap way."
Large scale nuclear power is only economical and practical if combined with fuel reprocessing. That this reduces the amount and lethality of the waste is a positive side-effect.
This controversy in the U.S. is being driven by politics and emotion, not by science and engineering. The damage done by coal is dispersed and unfocused. A leak in a reactor makes good headlines.
If it wasn't the waste, it would be something else. There's something about the idea of being able to have abundant, clean energy without rationing, control and sacrifice that rubs some people the wrong way.