US Mike Johnson Says Men Need to Stop 'Playing Video Games All Day' and Get to Work: 'They're Draining Resources' - lol. LMFAOYFNFFAFO even.

https://www.latintimes.com/mike-johnson-says-men-need-stop-playing-video-games-all-day-get-work-theyre-draining-580534

"Return the dignity of work to young men who need to be at work instead of playing video games all day."​

Morgan Music / Published Apr 11 2025, 1:28 PM EDT

House Speaker Mike Johnson defended cuts to Medicaid, insisting it would "return the dignity of work to young men who need to be at work instead of playing video games all day.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson defended Republican efforts to attach work requirements to Medicaid, suggesting that young American men are wasting their lives "playing video games all day" instead of working.

Johnson's remarks came as House Republicans pushed forward a budget framework that would help finance President Donald Trump's tax cuts, with plans to slash federal spending by trillions. GOP leaders are eyeing $880 billion in reductions to Medicaid, a move critics warn could gut health coverage for millions of low-income Americans.

Johnson attempted to sidestep claims of direct benefit cuts, instead blaming "able-bodied young men" for taking advantage of a program he said was meant for single mothers, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

"They're draining resources from people who actually do [need it]," Johnson said. "So if you clean that up... you save a lot of money and you return the dignity of work to young men who need to be at work instead of playing video games all day."

Despite Johnson's insistence that, "No one has talked about cutting one benefit in Medicaid," the work requirement would threaten health care access for millions, including Americans that are temporarily unemployed after being laid off.

A report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that as many as 36 million of the 72 million enrolled in Medicaid could be stripped of coverage under work requirements.

Trump has been promised a quick turn around on the bill, putting the pressure on Johnson and House Republicans to make significant cuts that can be rationalized to voters who stand to lose access to services, or—in Johnson's view—video game time.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Just cut on all welfare that isn't medical. If the sheboon clans and trannies die of starvation, it's a net good. The only financial support should be from communities to themselves.

 

[Cardinal Cardinal]

For what benefit?

See below

Video games are a productivity sink, and playing them all day is souls sucking, and young men need to do something productive and fulfilling with life.

 

[Chunky Salsa]

See below

Working slop jobs all day is soul sucking, not life fulfilling, and not productive, so no. It's just trading one pointless activity for another, but in one you're wasting your time doing bing-bing-wahoo, and in another you're wasting your time making line go up. Both have no real benefit for you, so why choose the latter?

 

[Cardinal Cardinal]

Working slop jobs all day is soul sucking, not life fulfilling, and not productive, so no. It's just trading one pointless activity for another, but in one you're wasting your time doing bing-bing-wahoo, and in another you're wasting your time making line go up. Both have no real benefit for you, so why choose the latter?

Then get a better job.

 

[Get the rope Macaulay!]

Um I dont wanna be rude, but are you implying that you are ugly?

i'm on kiwifarms the fact i'm not obese makes me at leave above average for the farms, but for the public, hr ladies look at me the same way they look at null after an anti-tranny rant.

Its not that men dont want to work we just dont want to work WITH YOU. GROW UP. Men would literally rather have a back breaking job in the fucking sun than work in an office with a culture geared towards whatever autistic and insane bullshit some virtue signaling hr director/manager came up with.

one of the jobs i had right out of college was in an all dude workplace, i think there was like two women, one of whom was black and the other was Rican so they fit in with the vibe, and our branch constantly outdid the rest, we saw the CEO constantly because our area was the one he'd show off to investors or corporate or whomever because it was the best one in the nation and we barely fucking worked. its crazy how fast you get shit done when you don't have some women whining through work and constantly talking about innate bullshit all day

Hardly anybody under 40 will ever afford a house and a family

imagine saying that to people 20 years ago, that was when realtors had to include the fact that you could fit a beerpong table in a garage as a selling point because of how young men were who could afford a house.

 

[Chunky Salsa]

Then get a better job.

I have a good job, in a career I enjoy, with pay that I think is pretty good. I had to compete with ~1000ish people to get it, got through five days of interviews and an exam, on top of four years of university, and three years of post grad work. It's very difficult to get a decent job that pays enough to get you the things that actually matter. There are not enough of them for everyone. Do you have an actual solution beyond 'hurr durrr just do better hahahaha'? Do you think that 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' is something that someone who is on state benefits is going to hear and go 'Damn, he's right!'?

Between 18-30% of all jobs in the USA pay above 80K a year. Being generous, 70% of jobs are not worth doing, because after taxes and bills, you're still not going to get a house in most states - except West Virginia - and you'll still be broke, so why would you do them? That's sort of the fundamental problem with the idea of 'lol just work harder' or 'lol get a better job'. The reality of the job market means most young people are fucked long term if they want productive fulfilling work that isn't just pushing the giant wheel from Conan.

EDIT: Businesses in the US, are propped up by the government in the form of international trade, and bussing in cheap scab labour from other countries; and until that stops, and the businesses that cannot afford to be run go under and are replaced, the job market is mangleed.

 

[Otterly]

Well he’s not wrong, but at the same time what does work get you? Where are the entry level jobs leading to lifelong careers ? Where are the mid level jobs that let you have a home and a family and savings?
Until there’s a carrot, there’s only a stick

 

[Spud]

Working slop jobs all day is soul sucking, not life fulfilling, and not productive

The unfortunate thing is that those jobs need to be worked so that the power stays on and the water stays clean. If work was put towards creating an economy where the money from those jobs has more purchasing power, a guy can clock in, work the shift then clock out and spend their time in leisure, whether it be playing vidya, watching films and what not. They have the purchasing power to buy their own house even if it's just a modest 1 bedroom but has the space to make it 2 outright. More people would be willing to work those jobs if the money they would earn could actually buy stuff.

 

[Chunky Salsa]

The unfortunate thing is that those jobs need to be worked so that the power stays on and the water stays clean. If work was put towards creating an economy where the money from those jobs has more purchasing power, a guy can clock in, work the shift then clock out and spend their time in leisure, whether it be playing vidya, watching films and what not. They have the purchasing power to buy their own house even if it's just a modest 1 bedroom but has the space to make it 2 outright. More people would be willing to work those jobs if the money they would earn could actually buy stuff.

Those aren't the jobs I was talking about. The jobs that keep the power on, clean the water, clean the streets, I think are all very important and productive. I got more in fulfilment digging ditches for the water company than I ever did doing insurance sales, even if the latter paid more and is higher status. I think those jobs should let you buy a house, should let you have a good life.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

Members of Congress make a meager $174k a year.

Only double!

 

[Cardinal Cardinal]

I have a good job, in a career I enjoy, with pay that I think is pretty good. I had to compete with ~1000ish people to get it, got through five days of interviews and an exam, on top of four years of university, and three years of post grad work. It's very difficult to get a decent job that pays enough to get you the things that actually matter. There are not enough of them for everyone. Do you have an actual solution beyond 'hurr durrr just do better hahahaha'? Do you think that 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' is something that someone who is on state benefits is going to hear and go 'Damn, he's right!'?

Between 18-30% of all jobs in the USA pay above 80K a year. Being generous, 70% of jobs are not worth doing, because after taxes and bills, you're still not going to get a house in most states - except West Virginia - and you'll still be broke, so why would you do them? That's sort of the fundamental problem with the idea of 'lol just work harder' or 'lol get a better job'. The reality of the job market means most young people are fucked long term if they want productive fulfilling work that isn't just pushing the giant wheel from Conan.

Whats infuriating is you keep describing how it's possible to get a good job if you put in effort while also assuming people who don't have one are the dumbest mother fuckers in the universe with no aspirations and should just give up.
So it's possible for you, but not everyone else. Why?

 

[MadStan]

Oh that’s hilarious!!!! If I say this on KF I get called a libtard and asshole; but if Mike says it then it must be true.

It’s worth noting he didn’t mention women as they are actually outdoing men in employment growth and education stats.

Oh the poor young men!!

 

[CAPTAIN HAPPY]

I don't understand why everyone assumes having a job means working for the villainous megacorp. The point is do something other than sit on your ass all day collecting hand outs.

no duh

 

[stupid frog]

You will never find a job. You have no experience, you have no brown skin.

 

[Chunky Salsa]

So it's possible for you, but not everyone else. Why?

Because the jobs are limited in number? Only about 30-40% (assuming you're living somewhere cheap for the latter percent) are worth doing. It's possible for a lot of people to get good jobs, hundreds and thousands of them, millions even. But there are 33 million young men in the USA. Do you genuinely think that the majority are just lazy and unwilling to put in effort? That the up and coming generation are just uniquely entitled and demotivated people that don't want to have a good life? I don't, I think the job market is fucked for them, and that they aren't dumbasses and can see that the pay they are being offered for the work they are being offered is insulting. That a majority of businesses in the USA are propped aloft by government handouts to keep them going. So why shouldn't they do the same thing?

Hard work is good, but fundamentally I beat out a lot of other people that worked really hard, a lot of them for definite, worked harder than me. I got my job initially not just because I was a qualified and hardworking candidate, but also because I interviewed well - one of the interviewers went to the same university as me, another did his thesis on the same subject as me, whereas the other 4 people in my panel had no easy rapport with the senior technical specialist - and that was realistically luck. You seem to think that there is an infinite well of good jobs available, and I'm not really sure why?

 

[Cardinal Cardinal]

Do you genuinely think that the majority are just lazy and unwilling to put in effort?

Yes, the ones playing video games all day. Not even trying to put in effort or bettering yourself is what I call lazy.

You seem to think that there is an infinite well of good jobs available, and I'm not really sure why?

I never said there was.

 

[Chunky Salsa]

Yes, the ones playing video games all day. Not even trying to put in effort or bettering yourself is what I call lazy.

Some of them definitely are, but I don't think we get to the point we are, with a vast swathe of the population checked out, without there being something fundamentally wrong with the job market.

I never said there was.

Ah, so I assume the ones that can't get good jobs - which is the majority - are just fucked and should accept doing drudge work for no real benefit? That's been tried, and so far, hasn't worked. Hence why you've got some boomer wagging his finger at them in congress.

EDIT; I'm just kind of unsure as to what you're actually suggesting? You agree that there aren't enough good jobs, but think that people should just suck it up, toss themselves into the machine - when they don't currently have to - knowing that in all likelihood there is no actual benefit for them. Why would they do that?

 

[AnotherPleb]

Then get a better job.

Good luck getting any white guy not wearing programming socks past HR.

The unfortunate thing is that those jobs need to be worked so that the power stays on and the water stays clean. If work was put towards creating an economy where the money from those jobs has more purchasing power, a guy can clock in, work the shift then clock out and spend their time in leisure, whether it be playing vidya, watching films and what not. They have the purchasing power to buy their own house even if it's just a modest 1 bedroom but has the space to make it 2 outright. More people would be willing to work those jobs if the money they would earn could actually buy stuff.

The whole point of illegals and H1b is so those needed jobs don't get higher pay. Ask Birmingham in the UK if a trashman is more important than a stock broker.

 

[Yellow Rose Of Texas]

If they don't want to fix the society for the younger generation,don't be surprised that they don't want to contribute on the shit they created for them.

 

[Cardinal Cardinal]

Ah, so I assume the ones that can't get good jobs - which is the majority - are just fucked and should accept doing drudge work for no real benefit? That's been tried, and so far, hasn't worked. Hence why you've got some boomer wagging his finger at them in congress.

Can't get a good job from not trying and not getting a good job from trying are two different scenarios. The guy who tries is eventually going to find something better, leaving the guy who didn't try with the crappy job. This is how it should be.
I'm not making an argument for congress or mega corps. Just the idea that people who put in effort will eventually get rewarded.