Actually, the reason America doesn't recycle nuclear wsaste is a matter of economics, not stupidity. Recycling is EXPENSIVE. since we have los of deset land that is safe to use for long-term storage, we figure that it's cheaper to store it in Tucca Mountain now, then wait another hundred years or more for recycling technology to get cheap. The US also produces uranium, so it's cheap here
France and Japan are the two countries that recycle now. They have no deserts, no place to store the stuff, so the path of least political resistance is to spend the yen to recycle. These countries also have no uranium of their own. France buys it from Arizona.
Uranium prices have fallen because of reduced demand and a political decision to buy enriched uranium from recycled Russian warheads. When the stockpiles of recycled warhead uranium dwindle, the price will likely bump up. Likewise, if the power industry revives in some fashion, the economics will change.
Reprocessing is not inexpensive. Capital investment in reprocessing plants can be significant. If the demand for the product you're producing is down, that will tend to discourage development. But NOTHING is going to happen here on that front until the EO that Carter put in is rescinded.
Actually, the very best option is a closed fuel cycle like the IFR that was being developed at Idaho. Raw materials go in the front door of the plant, electricity comes out on the lines, reprocessing occurs inside, and every few years an aspirin-sized tablet of non-reprocessable waste comes out the back end. Clinton canceled that one (of course).