I was joking, but to make a point. What you're saying seems to be based on your own opinion rather than any kind of objective survey. First, there are many well-known Python apps that have been around for years and people certainly get paid to maintain them. We're talking Red Hat utilities, NASDAQ software, Google code, etc.

Second, new Perl development is obviously happening since large companies that use Perl like Amazon, Yahoo, and TicketMaster continue to roll out new applications.

Some people are starting new projects in Python. Others are starting them in Perl. You have no data about how many are starting in each, but we do have data that there are far more Perl programming jobs than Python ones.