Biden Tells Lula His Dad's 'More Than a Paycheck' Line Twice in One Day (September 20, 2023)

President Joe Biden saw Brazil’s leftist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, twice in New York on Sept. 20, 2023. Both times, he told him the same story about his father.

The first came at 1:27 p.m., before their meeting, after Lula finished speaking [1]. “Mr. President, I couldn’t agree with you more. I know I’m not supposed to speak again, but my dad used to have an expression,” Biden said [1].

“He’d say: ‘Joe, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about your dignity. It’s about self-respect. It’s about being able to look your children in the eye and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be okay,’ and mean it,’” Biden said [1].

The video above shows that moment. Quotes are from the official transcripts published by the American Presidency Project [1][2].

”For Real”

At a second event the same day, the two leaders launched a “Partnership for Workers’ Rights.” Biden opened with the same line. “Growing up in my household, my dad used to have an expression, for real,” he said [2].

“He’d say: ‘A job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about your dignity. It’s about respect. It’s about being able to look your child in the eye and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be okay,’ and mean it,’” Biden said [2].

He added a jab at the rich. Under his plan, he said, “the poor have a shot up and the wealthy still do very well, except they don’t pay enough taxes, but that’s a different issue” [2].

157 Documents

It was one of Biden’s favorite lines. A search of the American Presidency Project’s archive returns 157 Biden documents from his four years in office containing the phrase “more than a paycheck” [3].

Biden told other stories again and again. HYGO News found at least 12 versions of his “no seats” joke in the same archive.

”My Friends Are Tired of Hearing Me Saying This”

The line goes back to his first months in office. On Equal Pay Day in March 2021, Biden said his father would tell him: “You know, Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about your dignity. It’s about respect” [4].

He was still telling it at the end. At a Christmas dinner for Special Olympics athletes in December 2024, Biden said: “My dad used to have an expression. He’d say, ‘Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck’” [5].

He even worked it into his remarks on the death of former President Jimmy Carter. “You know, he was like my dad. He thought that—he’d say: ‘Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck,’” Biden said on Dec. 29, 2024 [6].

Biden knew it. Signing the Social Security Fairness Act on Jan. 5, 2025, he said: “You know, my dad taught me—and I mean this—my friends are tired of hearing me saying this” [7].

”Most Pro-Union Administration”

Biden then pitched organized labor. “I’m proud that my administration is characterized as the most pro-union administration in American history,” he said. “Whether it’s your auto workers or any other union worker, record corporation profits should mean record contracts for union workers” [2].

He gave Lula the credit for the new program. “The partnership actually was this man’s idea,” Biden said [2].

He listed five goals, starting with “ending forced labor, ending child labor, ending worker exploitation.” The third was climate. “Folks, as I’ve told labor from the very beginning: When I think of climate change, I think of jobs. Jobs,” Biden said [2].

”Not to Deceive You”

International Labour Organization Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo closed the event with a promise. “And I can promise you that we will do our very best not to deceive you, Mr. President,” he said [2].

Lula’s Plans

Before the meeting, Lula laid out his country’s agenda. “And we will chair the BRICS process in 2025. And we will be—chair the G-20 next year,” he said [1].

He also described “a new era for the U.S.-Brazil relation, amongst equal partners, a sovereign relationship” [1].

By the Numbers

2: times Biden told Lula the paycheck line on Sept. 20, 2023 [1][2].
157: Biden-era documents in the archive containing “more than a paycheck” [3].
5: goals Biden listed for the partnership [2].
40 percent: the extra tariff President Donald Trump later put on certain Brazilian products [8].

What Happened Next

Trump took on Lula’s government. On July 30, 2025, Trump declared a national emergency over Brazil. “Members of the Government of Brazil are also politically persecuting a former President of Brazil, which is contributing to the deliberate breakdown in the rule of law in Brazil,” his order said [8].

“Brazilian officials are also persecuting former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro,” the order said. It found “it is necessary and appropriate to impose an additional ad valorem duty rate of 40 percent on certain products of Brazil” [8].

The order also accused Brazilian officials of issuing “orders to compel United States online platforms to censor the accounts or content of United States persons” [8].

For Vice President Kamala Harris’s favorite line, see HYGO News’ page on “I love Venn diagrams”.