Does America Have a Conservative Supreme Court?

On Monday, July 15, 2019, Kim Monson examines whether America truly has a conservative Supreme Court with constitutional scholar Rob Natelson, and discusses Social Security strategy with financial advisor Jason McBride. The episode also covers the controversial ICE protest in Aurora where protesters raised a Mexican flag while desecrating the American flag.

Social Security: More Valuable Than You Think

Start listening at 26:38 – Hour 1

Jason McBride of Presidential Wealth Management breaks down the numbers on Social Security benefits and challenges the conventional wisdom that investors would be better off managing retirement funds themselves. McBride explains that a worker who contributed to Social Security for 40 years at maximum earnings would receive approximately $2,861 monthly, or about $34,000 annually, guaranteed for life with cost-of-living adjustments.

To match that benefit through private investment, McBride calculates that an investor would need to build $177,000 in contributions up to $858,000, requiring a consistent 8.5% annual return over 40 years. He emphasizes the importance of calculating the optimal Social Security claiming strategy based on individual circumstances rather than following generic advice about when to claim benefits.

“Don’t be thinking that you’ve got ripped off over the years and you could have done way better on your own, because I think it’s a tall order to match what they offer.”

Jason McBride, Presidential Wealth Management

The Myth of the Conservative Supreme Court

Start listening at 33:27 – Hour 1

Rob Natelson, constitutional scholar and Senior Fellow at the Independence Institute, dismantles the popular narrative that America has a conservative Supreme Court. Analyzing the October 2018 term, Natelson demonstrates that for every so-called conservative victory, there was a liberal victory, revealing a centrist court at best. He notes that both liberal media and conservative politicians have interests in perpetuating the conservative court myth for different reasons.

Natelson points to the remarkable failure of Republican presidents to secure originalist justices. Over the last 50 years, Republicans made 19 Supreme Court appointments compared to just 8 by Democrats, yet the court still has four firm liberals and only one consistent originalist: Clarence Thomas. Many Republican nominees have become centrists like Justice Roberts or flipped hard left like John Paul Stevens, David Souter, and Earl Warren.

“We don’t have a conservative Supreme Court. We haven’t had one for many decades.”

Rob Natelson, Constitutional Scholar

206 Corporations to Boycott

Start listening at 46:20 – Hour 1

Natelson exposes 206 major corporations, including Best Buy, Apple, Amazon, AT&T, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, that filed an amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County asking the Supreme Court to expand the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s prohibition against sex discrimination to include homosexual and transgender conduct. While not taking a position on whether such expansion should occur, Natelson argues forcefully that any changes must come through Congress, not judicial fiat.

The constitutional scholar warns that these corporations are asking the court to violate two fundamental American principles: interpreting laws according to the intent of the people’s representatives, and maintaining democracy by keeping lawmaking power with Congress rather than the courts. He suggests that large corporations may benefit from such regulatory expansion because compliance costs would disadvantage smaller competitors.

“You don’t change the meaning of a law by judicial fiat. That’s not democracy, that’s oligarchy, and that’s not the rule of law. That is tyranny.”

Rob Natelson, Constitutional Scholar