OK, I'm back in Moscow from sunny, San Diego-esque Rostov-on-Don -- which now has three sushi bars within a one-block radius downtown! Wow.
Anyway, I was wondering about something. As part of its attempt to improve the demographic situation, the Russian government recently adopted a policy whereby a woman who has a second child gets 250,000 rubles (about $9600) worth of child care and other such child-oriented services when the child turns three years old. (Said development AFAIK mysteriously unreported in Anglophone media.)
I have been scratching my heads wondering why they stuck the "three years old" crierion in there. It can't be to encourage people not to have children and dump them on the state for money, as childcare services aren't very useful to your average alcoholic deadbeat. Anybody have any ideas? Do any other countries do this kind of thing? Thanks.
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