Real man of the people, that Pence. He showed where his loyalty actually lies with his answer on income disparity in the United States during the second Republican debate on Fox "news."
Pence was asked a similar question on CNN earlier this month, and he spouted a whole lot of weasel words in response to Jake Tapper asking him about the difference in CEO pay and the pay of the average auto worker.
I was surprised to see Varney ask the question framed the way he did, but I wasn't surprised that there was zero follow up, or by Pence's response.
VARNEY: Together, the CEOs of General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis make 336 times the number of number of rank and file workers. That's just part of a wider income inequality trend in the country. The richest 1 percent now controls one fifth of all income. Vice President Pence, last week you said you side with American workers.
But you also support how these companies operate. Which is it?
[...]
PENCE: Look, I do disagree with something Tim Scott just said. Joe Biden doesn't belong on a picket line. He belongs on the unemployment line.
Look, I'm from the second leading manufacturing state in the country for per capita. I was governor of the state of Indiana. We brought 12,000 factories back to America during our administration. I know something about manufacturing.
And I've got to tell you while the union bosses are talking about class warfare and talking about disparity in wages, I have to tell you, I really believe what is driving this is Bidenomics has failed. Wages are not keeping up with inflation.
Auto workers, and all American workers are feeling it, and families are struggling in this economy. And Joe Biden's Green New Deal agenda is good for Beijing and bad for Detroit. We ought to repeal the Green New Deal, get rid of the mandates and subsidies that are driving American gasoline automotive manufacturing into the graveyard, and beyond that also, as president of the United States, I'll be standing with workers all across America, and I'll be standing for the right to work of every American, to join a union or not join a union as they decide.
So let's bust the unions. Yeah, that should help level out those wages Pence. And by the way, the Green New Deal was never actually enacted, not that it stops any of them from pretending it passed when everyone was asleep.
And the Biden administration and the Department of Energy announced in August that they support a just transition to electric vehicles, which the auto workers support, and which will hopefully keep more of these jobs in the United States. Here's a statement on that from the UAW:
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $15.5 billion in new grants and loans to support a just transition to electric vehicles. This includes a $2 billion domestic conversion grant program, $10 billion in domestic conversion loans from the DOE Loan Program Office, and $3.5 billion in battery supply chain funding.
UAW President Shawn Fain issued this statement about the new DOE grants and loans:
“The UAW supports and is ready for the transition to a clean auto industry. But the EV transition must be a just transition that ensures auto workers have a place in the new economy. Today’s announcement from the Department of Energy echoes the UAW’s call for strong labor standards tied to all taxpayer funding that goes to auto and manufacturing companies.
“We are glad to see the Biden Administration doing its part to reject the false choice between a good job and a green job. This new policy makes clear to employers that the EV transition must include strong union partnerships with the high pay and safety standards that generations of UAW members have fought for and won.
“The Big Three have closed or spun off 65 plants in the last 20 years. The automakers have not yet promised job security in our ongoing negotiations. I have traveled across the country, meeting displaced workers who’ve had to pick up and move their families when plants shut down recently in Belvidere, Ill., Lordstown, Ohio, and Romeo, Mich. These new grants and loans will give plants like these a chance for federal support to ensure those jobs and communities are protected.
“The UAW looks forward to continue working with the Biden Administration to ensure a just transition for the auto workers in this country.”
Don't expect any Republicans like Pence to support this policy. They love to pretend they support American workers, but they could care less about what those workers are paid and if they have any benefits, and how bad the income disparity is in the United States. They're all union busters, and Pence proved it again during the debate.
