What To Know
- Bill Maher disputed claims about $20 burritos and unaffordable groceries.
- He criticized Gen Z for complaining about high prices, arguing that their generation is wealthier than previous ones.
- The Real Time host also praised Gen X for ‘never complaining.’
Real Time host Bill Maher believes that Gen Z doesn’t have a right to complain about inflated costs because “they’re getting much richer” than previous generations.
Maher touched on the topic on Friday’s (August 14) edition of Real Time, highlighting a report of a Turning Point USA student’s complaint about the cost of burritos. A spokesperson for the conservative nonprofit organization, Andrew Kolvet, first brought up the subject on X.
“One of our TPUSA college students gave me his take on affordability: ‘A burrito shouldn’t cost $20,’” Kolvet wrote. “Yeah, a lot of this is a hangover from Covid and Biden-era inflation, but the lived experience is the same: It just feels like basic things cost too much.”
Maher didn’t buy the claim that a burrito costs $20, saying, “It doesn’t… it costs $20 because this kid factored in somebody bringing it to him in an Uber. You can get one for two dollars, and you could buy it in the supermarket. And somebody said they feed a family of eight on $20 by buying ingredients like we used to do.”
The comedian also aired his doubts on groceries being unaffordable, stating, “This is from the Fed, okay? Two-thirds of Americans consider groceries to be unaffordable. Maybe they are, but wages rose in the last decade, including in the pandemic, 46 percent. Food prices rose 34 percent. So wages outpace them by the numbers.”
According to Mediaite, inflation reached a three-year high in May at 4.2 percent, but it has since fallen to 3.5 percent. Gas prices have also risen significantly since Trump’s war with Iran, with the national gas average around $4.10, up from less than $3 before the war began in late February.
Maher then turned his attention specifically to Gen Z, which includes those born between the years 1997 and 2012. “Also, Gen Z… I never realized this until people started writing about it, as they reach their late 20s now, they’re getting much richer than Gen X was,” he claimed.
“Millennials and Gen Z at age 30, their net worth is around $118,000. Gen X’s was $53,000, like half of that,” he said. “But Gen X never complains. You gotta love those Gen Xs. They are the quietest f***ing church mice.”
The 70-year-old Maher, who is part of the Baby Boomer generation and has an estimated net worth of $140 million, didn’t provide any details on the difference between income and wealth and how Gen Z salaries are often eaten up by hyper-inflated rent, costly student loans, and increasingly high insurance premiums.
Real Time With Bill Maher, Fridays at 10/9c, HBO
