vox

Getting the train early this morning for a long commute - the station and trains are peaceful. No chaotic pushing and squeezing from people. It really puts into perspective how overcrowded our country is. We are massively overpopulated.

This is exactly where government support is needed most. In Russia, we had 140 days of 100% paid leave (70 days before and 70 after birth), followed by 1.5 years of childcare leave at 40% pay. There is also the "dairy kitchen" program, which provides milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, and juice for both mother and baby for up to three years. Workplace protections are also robust - you cannot be fired while pregnant, and your company is legally required to hold your position for three years. Additionally, the system provides free, high-quality pediatric care at children's hospitals, including mandatory nurse home visits during the first months to offer advice and checkups. This ensures a mother feels safe and protected. Combined with free, full-time daycare and a stable national environment, these policies provide the foundation for the population growth a country needs.

US fertility rates just hit another record low In 2025, the US general fertility rate fell to 53.1 - the lowest level ever recorded Japan, South Korea, and Germany have already been shrinking for years. Japan has been shrinking for years, South Korea’s population has already started to decline, and Germany would be shrinking without immigration Now the UK joins them - deaths will outnumber births every single year starting in 2026 No economy grows without people No pension system survives without young workers No culture persists without families having children This is the slowest civilizational crisis in human history

MUSK PAY TIED TO MARS COLONY AND SPACE DATA CENTERS SpaceX has tied Elon Musk’s pay to bold goals like building a Mars colony and space-based data centers. He could earn massive share awards if the company hits a $7.5 trillion valuation and establishes a million-person presence on Mars, along with major computing capacity in orbit. He gets nothing unless these targets are met and currently earns only a minimal salary. The plan is highly unusual and may create tension with Tesla, as both companies compete for his attention.

He is “Scam Altman”. Why? Because the pattern is obvious. • Founded OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit “for humanity” — Elon left in 2018 when it started going closed and profit-first. Now it’s basically a Microsoft subsidiary chasing billions while pretending it’s still open. • In 2023 the entire board fired him. Their words: “not consistently candid in his communications.” That’s corporate for “we can’t trust a word he says.” • Ilya Sutskever compiled 70 pages of internal docs — Slack messages, HR records — and the first line was “Sam exhibits a consistent pattern of… Lying.” • He lied to the board about safety reviews. Told them GPT-4 features were approved — they weren’t. Pushed product launches without proper checks. • Promised safety teams huge compute for alignment — they got scraps while the money went to shiny products. Top safety people quit saying the company went “off the rails.” • This isn’t new. Got pushed out of his first startup for “deceptive and chaotic behavior.” Same story at Y Combinator. • Uses harsh NDAs to silence ex-employees. Pits people against each other. Says whatever keeps him in power. The guy now running OpenAI has a long, documented history of not being straight with the people who are supposed to watch him. That’s why “Scam Altman” sticks. The New Yorker piece just put receipts on what Elon’s been saying for years. Read the article if you can. The stakes are too high for anything less than total honesty at the top.

Elon summed up his entire philosophy in 3 words: “My philosophy is curiosity & adventure.” No corporate fluff. No mission statements. Just pure wonder + the balls to explore the universe He’s him.