Birth Rate Crisis coming out in October
We are engaging a major PR firm, and Jim will be travelling to the U.S. to promote the book. Initial reaction has been very positive!
Collapsing fertility is happening all over the world, and more and more people are raising concerns. But nobody else has an explanation or a cure.
Apart from baby bonuses and the like, all of which have failed.
AFD winning in Germany
As of now, it looks like the AFD will come to control Saxony, one of Germany’s largest states.
I make no comment on their policies, except to say that concern about plunging birth rates is one of their main policies.
7-Eleven on the defensive
Their lawyers wrote me a letter demanding that I desist from my ‘false’ statements.
I asked them to tell me which of my statements were false.
Is it false that they have taken the businesses of a number of franchisees, without compensation, and relaunched as company stores?
If not, and they do intend to provide compensation, then I’d be very happy to retract.
They have asked for a private meeting.
Meanwhile, our spineless government does nothing.
With all your legions of bureaucrats, you can’t stop what amounts to plain and simple theft?
Australian per capita GDP in decline
Yes, our GDP is rising, but only because of massive immigration.
The share of national wealth per person has been going down for years.
How can this happen, when technology continues to forge ahead?
· Ever-rising taxes, including capital gains taxes that penalise entrepreneurs
· Red tape strangling businesses and pushing up prices for consumers.
· Zoning laws and ever-rising building regulations that force up the price of housing and rents
· Lunatic ‘green’ policies doubling the cost of electricity and hurting consumers more by pushing up business costs and thus prices.
Why should Australians pay twice as much for power as Americans?
· Ever-rising levels of debt, costing ever-rising payments of interest
· The only growth industry in Australia is bureaucrats, net increase of 28 per day
· 19.4% rise in the cost of living since 2022!
Who voted for this??
Even the ABC is concerned!
Even the taxpayer-funded lapdog of the left is starting to have doubts. Jim Chalmers is positive on growth but Australia’s productivity problem persists - ABC News.
One Nation in Victoria
Likely to hold the balance of power in Victoria in November, if not absolute control. On the positive side, Pauline Hanson has more actual business experience in her fish and chip shop than the entire Labor front bench, State and Federal.
However, they seem to lack both party discipline and enough competent candidates to turn Victoria around. But who else?
Labor: incompetent wreckers of the economy.
The worst government, State or Federal, in our history
Greens: even worse (yes, that is possible)
Coalition: better, but favour zoning restrictions that have forced up house prices and rents.
Libertarians: I’m standing for Northcote. Not going to win, but every vote is a vote for sensible reform
Branson: Behind the Mask, Tom Bower
I’ve read most of what Branson has written, and Virgin certainly has great PR.
But Branson is that all-too-familiar character of the modern age, a greenie hypocrite.
Lives in luxurious tax exile in the Virgin Islands, while swanning around in his private jet. Legions of failed and money-losing businesses.
If you want to look at a great British entrepreneur, try James Dyson.
Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Ron Chernow
Interesting character. Impeccable in personal life, ruthless and dishonest in crushing competition.
Yet whose philanthropic gifts to medical funding and researched have likely saved tens of millions of lives.
Possibly as much as 100 million.
To put this in context, all of Hitler’s wars and extermination policies likely killed 30 to 40 million. If Hitler is the embodiment of evil, how do we judge Rockefeller?
Agrippa, by Robert Harris
On a lighter note, Agrippa is (forgive the pun) a gripping read. He was the general who brought Octavian (the future Augustus) to power, and finally destroyed the Roman Republic.
And if you really want fresh thinking on why that happened, a new edition of Biohistory will be available free but in draft form, to accompany the launch of Birth Rate Crisis in October.
See www.biohistory.org (but not yet).
Yes, we are on exactly the same path, for exactly the same reasons.
Real hourly wage is a better measure of standard of living. GDP “rises” when two women swap their kids over the fence and pay each other to look after the other’s kid!
FWIW, I quite like the AFD’s policies