An Open Letter To Bill Maher

"Explain this economy," Bill says on Friday. Sure thing, Bill. It's a bipartisan failure to take on reckless monetary policy that widens the inequality gap.

On my run this morning, I was listening to the most recent episode of Real Time with Bill Maher. In the episode, Maher speaks with Rep. Jared Moskowitz and Bill O’Reilly about the election of New York City mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani.

As part of his explanation for why Mamdani was elected, Maher launches into a speech about how the economy isn’t working for many Americans and tacitly admits he doesn’t understand how bifurcated the economy has become:

“I understand why people are angry about the economy, especially in New York…Explain this economy. How some people are eating $36 cheeseburgers and other people are voting for socialism. And I understand why they’re voting for socialism — because they can’t even make ends meet and they’re worried about not eating at all.”

Maher has correctly identified the problem: the gap between the “haves” and “have nots” is getting wider. Elsewhere in the show, as Maher continues to unpack why the economy feels broken, he’s forced to acknowledge that the stock market is at all-time highs. From there, he asks—genuinely confused—why costs are so high and why ordinary people can’t afford basic necessities.

I’ve seen the same with what feels like an endless line of pundits and political commentators who want to discuss the economy but don’t really understand its dynamics. Maher can’t really point to what’s making the economy “bad” under Trump—despite the record stock market—because he doesn’t understand the underlying forces driving the inflation he’s criticizing.

The “health” of the economy has become a moving target for people eager to attack it by any means. One day they’ll judge it by job numbers, the next by the stock market, and on Friday, in Bill Maher’s case, by the cost of consumer goods.

What Maher needs to understand is that the inflation he’s using to condemn the state of the economy stems from a massive, bipartisan failure to confront America’s monetary policy. Both Republicans and Democrats have been negligent in challenging the status quo at the Federal Reserve—whose true mandate seems to be keeping financial asset prices inflated at all costs. As the money supply rises, so does inflation, so widens the inequality gap. And it’s been a bipartisan problem, Bill.

Widening of the inequality gap — the problem Maher is taking exception with — is what happens when the Fed bails out the housing market. It’s what happens when it adds trillions of dollars to its balance sheet to “stimulate” the economy during crises like COVID. And it’s what will happen again during the next sharp deleveraging—when the Fed inevitably steps in to rescue the system once more. As inflation is a tide that causes the Top 10% of personal wealth holders to get richer and increases the cost of goods, the “haves” don’t feel a damn thing, while a larger and larger portion of the “have nots” are brutalized by not being able to afford normal consumer goods.

Here’s what Maher’s problem looks like in chart form:

This is a recurring process that grows more regressive and accelerates in size every time Fed stimulus occurs. This ongoing cycle widens the inequality gap—precisely the issue both political parties claim to care about. The relentless expansion of the money supply drives up consumer prices, while the Fed’s constant bailouts of financial assets—buying corporate bonds and rescuing banks—further enrich the wealthy and deepen inequality.

I summarized this phenomenon in an article I wrote earlier this year, where I wrote that while both parties were guilty of reckless monetary policy, Democrats’ fiscal approach made their hypocrisy worse. I argued that Democrats promoted endless spending and higher taxes under the illusion that the Federal Reserve could print unlimited money without consequence.

I noted that this mindset had driven U.S. debt past $35 trillion and, combined with the Fed’s constant bailouts, had severely widened the wealth gap. Each round of money printing made the rich richer while crushing the lower and middle classes.

Even though he’s a Democrat, I like Bill Maher. I respect him because I’ve seen him put common sense above partisan loyalty and question his own side’s narratives. I’ve watched him think critically about issues and evolve his perspective over time.

I believe Maher has the ability to see clearly why the economy didn’t work under Biden, why it isn’t working for the lower and middle classes under Trump now, and why it won’t work under whoever comes next. The only real question is how quickly things will regress—and that depends on how soon we’re driven back to a point where the Federal Reserve once again feels compelled to intervene and bail out the entire economy.

Not only would I love for Bill to see this clearly, I’d love to see him step outside the box and invite an Austrian economist—someone like Peter Schiff—onto his show to help explain why we’re headed toward one of two inevitable outcomes: either a social revolt sparked by widening inequality, or a sovereign debt crisis that permanently destroys the U.S. dollar.

If anyone knows Bill, please get him this message.

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