Jim Penman exposes truth behind declining birth rate in upcoming book - slams housing affordability

Australia's most outspoken entrepreneur and founder of the country's largest franchise network, Jim Penman, is set to ignite national debate with the release of his upcoming book Birth-rate Crisis, which challenges the popular belief that housing costs are to blame for declining fertility rates.
 

Bureaucracy and broken systems are part of the problem
 

Penman agrees that excessive government regulation has made housing much too expensive, by stopping owners from developing their property as they wish. Based on comparisons with overseas cities, such as Houston, Texas, with less rigid zoning laws, housing costs are double what they should be. Rentals are also much higher.
 

"Lengthy delays in approvals also force up costs and we pay sky-high taxes and rates to support the town planning bureaucracy," Penman said.
 

"With proper zoning, the median house price in Melbourne and Sydney would be scarcely more than $500,000.
 

"Young people would be able to buy a house without a crippling mortgage and it would take most homeless people off the streets."
 

A crisis of values, nourishment and direction
 

According to Penman, the real cause runs much deeper than rising property prices.
 

"Even in regional areas where housing is cheaper, birth rates are still below replacement level. The root problem lies elsewhere. People blame lack of income, but the real issue is a change in character," Penman said.
 

"There has been a change in priorities in that we no longer value families the way we did. Instead, people today place more emphasis on wealth, consumption and leisure, as well as the quick fixes to be found in junk food, social media, gambling, porn and drugs such as marijuana.
 

"The pursuit of short-term pleasure does not make people happy. Instead, it has led to loneliness and increasing levels of anxiety and depression. This is most vividly seen in rising 'deaths of despair', from such cases as suicide and drug overdose.
 

"No amount of baby bonuses will fix that and not even cheaper housing, much as we should aim for that."

A scientific solution to a societal failure
 

Penman believes this change has deep biological roots, in the way people react to wealth. He emphasises that the only way to solve it is through neuro-science.
 

He is backing his concerns with action. He is currently funding a multi-million-dollar scientific research foundation to explore the biological roots of collapsing fertility and other malign changes across the developed world.
 

His team is currently testing a number of drugs, aiming especially at the treatment of depression and drug addiction. Widespread adoption of such treatments would have the side benefit of lifting fertility.
 

"Science holds the key, not subsidies," Penman said.
 

"We need to understand the biology of collapsing fertility. That's the focus of my research and the core message of this book."
 

Launching soon:  Birth-rate Crisis
 

Birth-rate Crisis is scheduled for release later this year and is expected to bring international attention to one of the most urgent issues of our time.
 

About Jim's Group
 

Jim's Group was founded by Jim Penman in 1989 and now has some 5,550 franchisees in more than 50 divisions. It is the largest franchise chain in the Southern Hemisphere.

https://jims.net