Bill Maher used his closing monologue on Friday’s episode of HBO’s “Real Time” to argue that America’s wealth-redistribution programs have become “out of whack, same as in France.”
Maher opened by saying that with socialism “having a moment,” the country needs to get honest about how much of it already exists and whether it can be sustained. “When you don’t, [France] is what you get,” he said.
He pointed to France’s heavy spending on retirees as a cautionary example and argued the United States runs the same risk, spending enormous sums on the elderly. That imbalance, he said, is part of why socialism appeals to younger generations. “This is why socialism is so popular with the young. They see the government paying older folks to sit around all day, and they say, hey, where’s my monthly check for doing dick?” Maher said.
He acknowledged older Americans worked for decades before retiring and generally need more government services than younger people do. But he didn’t let that excuse the current setup.
“But make no mistake, the young want socialism, because they’re jealous that the older people have it and they don’t. Everything socialists want, we already have. Government-paid universal healthcare? We have it. It’s called Medicare. Universal basic income? We have it. It’s called Social Security. Medicaid is adult daycare. If you’re a senior citizen, you’re already living like Mamdani is president.”
Maher called these “historic, necessary programs” but insisted the country has to face the fact that the redistribution has gone off balance, just as it has in France. He argued the fix isn’t being applied where it should be.
“But rather than fix it at the source, and putting more money in the hands of the young, we keep giving it to the old, who then have to turn around and give it to their broke kids anyway.”
