Biden then switched to an even more reactionary form of nationalism, attacking Trump for his alleged slurs against American soldiers as "losers" and "suckers" for going to war and being killed, wounded or captured. He cited his own son's deployment to Kosovo and then to Iraq, both times in the service of military operations launched by American imperialism.
Returning to his theme of defending American capitalist manufacturing, Biden cited both his role in the bailout of the auto bosses -- which came at the expense of the jobs, benefits and working conditions of auto workers -- and in the forced bankruptcy of the city of Detroit, which led to sweeping cuts in benefits and pensions for city employees, as well as the partial privatization of key assets such as the water and sewage system and the Detroit Institute of Arts.
In the only policy measure unveiled in the course of the speech, Biden said an incoming Democratic administration would impose a 10 percent tax penalty on companies that offshore jobs, together with a 10 percent tax credit for companies that bring offshored jobs back to the United States.
In part, this is pure demagogy. Biden campaign officials have no doubt already informed the auto bosses and other corporations that no such penalties will be applied, although the tax credits and other measures to put more money into the coffers of big business will no doubt be enacted.
There were a few grandiose Trump-style flourishes as well, including a pledge to build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles and to convert all federal government vehicles from internal combustion to electric (something that would provide a guaranteed market for US electric vehicle manufacturers, no doubt with a huge subsidy).
More nationalist demagogy concluded the speech. "I do not accept the defeatist view that the forces of automation and globalization mean we cannot keep good-paying union jobs and create more," he said.
The truth is that "good-paying union jobs" ceased to exist decades ago, and the only "good living" provided by the UAW is for the thousands of highly paid executives and "international reps" at Solidarity House and at regional offices around the country. The auto companies, with the full support of the UAW, have split up the workforce into myriad tiers, each more exploited and underpaid than the last, driving down wages and conditions, particularly for the younger generation of workers.
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