Will the Recession Inspire a Baby Bust?

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I was talking with one of my older friends, he's in his mid to upper 30s whereas I'm in my mid 20s, and he said if having a child is a priority, you find a way to make it work. He and his wife live on ONE income in New York City, Sure they live in a gentrifying neighborhood, eat in a lot, and only go away once or twice a year, but it means their child has a full time stay at home parent and that's important to them.

veronica of NH 8:39AM June 10, 2009

A child born today is highly unlikely to die in a world with twice the population as today, especially if he lives to 2100. The UN and demographers in general are projecting that the world population will peak at about 9 billion at the middle of this century and then begin to drop dramatically. Why? Because fertility rates world wide are plunging. The total fertility rate (TFR) is already below replacement rates in the developed world and are dropping dramatically in almost the entirety of the remainder of the world (with subSahara Africa being the most notable exception). The primary reason why population continues to rise is increased longevity. In Russia and Japan, populations are dropping already. The same will become true in the EU as a whole during this decade. Population growth in the US is primarily the result of increased longevity, immigration and above-replacement rate fertility among immigrants and their children. All other Americans have below-replacement rate fertility rates, in line with the rest of the developed world.
It's well past time for us to get the facts straight on world demographic trends and stop acting on out-of-date information.

GL of AL 9:55AM June 05, 2009

but the fact is that kids born today may live to the year 2100 and see an earth then with perhaps twice as many people on it.
The gradual erosion of the "middle class" in America is predicting that that is going to be a more difficult world in America and probably everywhere.
The best thing may be for men who are not ABSOLUTELY SURE that they want to (and are financially able to) devote decades to good and sufficient child rearing to go ahead and get a vasectomy now. Imagine, for instance, that say HALF of the unplanned babies and say HALF of the abortions could be prevented this way. Would that not be a good thing for everyone?
In my case, I have one great marriage, one wonderful child (age 35), and a vasectomy since age 22. We have never been sorry.

Muser of NM 11:08AM June 04, 2009