Six thousand years ago, someone invented the plow, and we all got wealthier. A gentle reminder that all civilizational wealth is driven by invention.

Joined July 2008
100% correct diagnosis and prescription. And it’s not just in Spain.
Increíble de ver a los “expertos” en solventar la emergencia de vivienda que vive España! En cada televisión! @telediario_tve @A3Noticias @tele5_noticias @noticias_cuatro La realidad es que tenemos a políticos que intentan crear decretos y soluciones cuando no tienen la preparación ni el conocimiento para idear una solución real al problema que vivimos. España no tiene un problema de falta de decretos. Tiene un problema de falta de viviendas. Y mientras el Gobierno siga confundiendo anunciar medidas con resolver problemas, seguiremos pagando las consecuencias de su inacción. Subvencionar la demanda sin aumentar la oferta presiona los precios. Regular cada vez más un mercado sin construir vivienda nueva no elimina la escasez: la administra. Castigar fiscalmente una modalidad de alquiler puede cambiar incentivos, pero tampoco pone un solo ladrillo. El Gobierno puede aprobar todas las medidas que quiera y venderlas como grandes soluciones. Puede encadenar decretos, anuncios y campañas de propaganda. Pero hay una pregunta que desmonta cualquier discurso: ¿Cuántas viviendas nuevas crea todo esto? Porque la vivienda no se abarata repartiendo la escasez. Se abarata acabando con ella. España necesita construir. Mucho. Más suelo disponible. Licencias en meses, no en años. Más densidad donde sea posible. Seguridad jurídica. Muchísima más vivienda pública y también privada. Pero el Gobierno no está haciendo lo necesario. Prefiere intervenir sobre las pocas viviendas que existen antes que crear las condiciones para que haya muchas más. Prefiere presentar parches como soluciones y cargar sobre propietarios, promotores y ciudadanos el coste de su fracaso. Lo demás puede servir para redistribuir, proteger a determinados colectivos o cambiar incentivos. Pero no confundamos eso con solucionar el problema de fondo. No se arregla una falta de vivienda repartiendo mejor las pocas casas que existen. Se arregla haciendo que existan muchas más. Menos propaganda. Menos parches. Menos obsesión por intervenir sobre el mismo piso. Más oferta. Más construcción. Más casas.
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The race to the Moon is about far more than planting a flag. The lunar south pole will be strategically important for decades to come, and America intends to take lead.
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Dolly spent her whole life showing us what it means to lead with love. Lauren and I are so grateful to have known her. She lifted everyone with her music, her generosity, and her joy. Sending our sincere condolences to her family and everyone she touched.
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Team is moving at record speed out at the pad. Gradatim Ferociter!
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Wally Funk waited 60 years to get to space, and no one ever earned it more. She trained with the Mercury 13 in 1961, out-tested the men, and was told no anyway. She never stopped flying — 19,600 hours, thousands of students, a lifetime of firsts. Five years ago this month, I had the honor of flying with her on New Shepard's first crewed flight. At 82, she was fearless, joyful, and asking to go again before we’d even landed. Her dream took six decades, but it came true. Dreams have no expiration date. Godspeed, Wally.
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One week later, incredible progress. It’s a 24/7 operation with a solid path forward to launch this year, helped by a lot of luck. @NASA and @USSpaceForce have both been extremely helpful. This team. Never tell them the odds.
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Jeff Bezos retweeted
Some LC-36 updates. Now that we’ve had access to the pad and integration facility we can share a bit of good news. The propellant farm, oxygen, liquid hydrogen and LNG tanks are all in good shape. This is good luck because these are very long lead items. The water tower is also good. The big support tower is damaged, but it can be repaired in place rather than torn down and replaced. The booster “Never Tell Me The Odds” and the three GS-2s that were onsite in the integration facility also look good. I’ve seen some speculation that we might move directly to the 9x4 configuration, but we won’t do that. Rate manufacturing of 7x2 is going well, and we’re going to continue that at pace as planned and store the stages for use. In addition, we had already been working for some time on eliminating our transporter-erector in favor of an alternative vertical conop, and we’ll now go directly to that; so we don’t need a new transporter-erector. We will fly again before the end of this year. Gradatim Ferociter.
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Thank you for being here today. Your support means a lot to the whole team. We will get back to flight, and we will get to the Moon. Gradatim Ferociter.
We go where we need to be, and today that was @NASAKennedy. Some of my senior engineers and I spent time at @blueorigin with @JeffBezos and @davill, speaking with the workforce and seeing the damage at LC-36 firsthand. I appreciated the opportunity to hear directly from those working through the aftermath and better understand the challenges ahead. There is a lot of work to do, but this is exactly why people choose careers in aerospace, whether at NASA, Blue Origin, or across the industry. The talent in this field thrives under pressure and performs at its best when solving the toughest problems. We have been saying for months at NASA that we are not going to sit on our hands and wait for the capabilities necessary to achieve the nation’s most pressing objectives. We are going to take an active role alongside our partners, just as we did in the 1960s, to overcome setbacks, remove obstacles, and deliver the intended outcomes. @NASA is committed to helping the Blue team recover, continue to advance their lunar lander and get New Glenn back to launching as soon as safely possible. America’s greatest achievements in space were never the result of avoiding setbacks. They came from overcoming them. We have done it before, and we will do it again🇺🇸
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All personnel are accounted for and safe. It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.
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This is great and they do deserve that. And, with some of the savings, we can zero out taxes on the bottom half of earners. The best way to put money in people's pockets is not to take it out in the first place.
This morning we are introducing COGE — the Commission on Government Efficiency.

This Commission will find ways for our city to work smarter, faster, and more effectively for working people. 

New Yorkers deserve a city government as careful with their money as they are.
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Please do a quick read of this. It’s short, well written, and will remove a bit of wool from over your eyes.
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Jeff Bezos retweeted
Said much of the same last week, but this is for the most part true, and most people don’t realize this (It marginally depends on what state). Definitely true in CA. Before everyone says, well it’s only income tax or the rich take a larger share, please see this graph: wid.world/document/why-is-eu…
Yes, the United States has the most progressive tax system in the world. The top 1% pay 40% of taxes, the bottom 50% pay 3% of taxes. We can make it even more progressive by zeroing out taxes on the bottom half. It’s a small amount of the total tax revenue but very meaningful to people in this group.
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Alexa was surprisingly helpful with this
Absolute banger on the Substack tomorrow
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In 2000, 36 yr old Jeff Bezos spoke about Space Exploration: “If I could do anything, I’d go explore space. Who knows 20 years from now, due to technology, such things will be easy.” - Jeff Bezos.
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Jeff Bezos retweeted
A really important and interesting interview with @JeffBezos and @andrewrsorkin about tax policy, AI, the economy, and space. Unfortunately it is only in audio form. Bezos argues for eliminating tax on the bottom 50%, making the case that the 3% of tax revenue from this cohort should be made up for by eliminating government waste and fraud. I agree. He says that instead of vilifying the top 1% who pay 40% of Federal taxes, we should have a real debate about tax policy. Is making the tax system even more progressive the right answer? Will it generate more revenues or less? Or should we endeavor to eliminate waste and shrink the size of government in order to eliminate tax on an even greater percentage of Americans? On AI, he makes a powerful case for more jobs, in fact a labor shortage, due to growth driven by increases in AI-driven productivity. A must listen. The interview begins at 18:33. youtu.be/NSVpd46EfLo?si=2ns1…
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Jeff Bezos retweeted
Jeff Bezos with straightforward simple logic. Bottom 50% pay no taxes + costs government 3%. Yet 100% life changing for this bottom half of America A smart and simple approach worth doing.
Thank you. The important part is zeroing out taxes on the bottom half. Best way to put money in someone’s pocket is to not take it out in the first place. Bottom half is only 3% of total tax revenue. But it’s very meaningful to that person. Zero it out.
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I wrote an essay about how we should eliminate income tax for the bottom half of Americans a few years ago. It would reduce an enormous burden on hundreds of millions of Americans and cost ~3% of government revenue. Jobs are the largest positive externality in the economy, yet we disincentivize them with payroll + income tax. While this feels like one of the most impactful policy proposals to help Americans, most politicians would rather squander the money on inefficient government programs. This is the best way to support lower and middle-class families.
Thank you. The important part is zeroing out taxes on the bottom half. Best way to put money in someone’s pocket is to not take it out in the first place. Bottom half is only 3% of total tax revenue. But it’s very meaningful to that person. Zero it out.
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Jeff Bezos is right, it's time to increase the standard deduction significantly. It's the best way to increase living standards for those who need it the most without the welfare trap.
Thank you. The important part is zeroing out taxes on the bottom half. Best way to put money in someone’s pocket is to not take it out in the first place. Bottom half is only 3% of total tax revenue. But it’s very meaningful to that person. Zero it out.
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Jeff Bezos is openly advocating for income tax to be abolished for the bottom 50% of Americans. Great idea that would help millions of families who need it.
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Jeff Bezos retweeted
A basic analysis shows that zeroing out federal taxes for the bottom half the USA would help millions, have minimal impact on tax receipts & add over $100 billion to the economy. It's easy to check this yourself with @grok & similar, great of @JeffBezos to highlight.
Thank you. The important part is zeroing out taxes on the bottom half. Best way to put money in someone’s pocket is to not take it out in the first place. Bottom half is only 3% of total tax revenue. But it’s very meaningful to that person. Zero it out.
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