Shutdown Averted, The Supreme Court & Abortion, Amazon & Unions, Mike’s Privilege

Mike & Jay open the show with a discussion of the deal to keep the federal government funded through mid February, which turns into a much more philosophical argument between Jay’s Machiavellian pragmatism / realism and Mike’s liberal idealism.

Next is a discussion of oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which involves Mississippi’s ban on essentially all abortions after 15 weeks. Mike & Jay agree that the Supreme Court will uphold the law and, in the process, allow other states to put into place significant restrictions on the ability of women to have abortions. Where they disagree is whether or not a constitutionally protected right to terminate a pregnancy exists.

After that, they discuss a recent National Labor Relations Board ruling that Amazon acted improperly in a union election at its Bessemer, Alabama warehouse, and that a new election is necessary. Mike agrees with the ruling and believes it’s clear that Amazon was out of line in its anti-union efforts, while Jay doesn’t think the company did anything meriting a re-do of the election. This leads into a broader discussion of the role of unions in America, globalization, automation, and economic vs non-economic concerns of workers.

The show ends with Mike & Jay picking up on a theme from last week - Mike’s alleged privilege. Mike makes the case that, as a White, male, cisgendered, heterosexual, he’s swimming in an ocean of privilege. Jay concedes that Mike has had some advantages based on his gender, race, and sexual orientation, but argues that those advantages are not as great as many on the left claim, and that socioeconomic and cultural issues can be far more important.

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