Budget cuts

Looks like the plunging U.S. economy has led to trimming in places between the pockets as opposed to ... oh you'll figure it out:

"Why are we suddenly having an explosion in guys asking for vasectomies?" This is a question Dr. Steven Jones' staff asks him a lot lately, the Cleveland Urologist told CNN. Dr. Marc Goldstein, a New York-based urologist in practice for over thirty years, told the network, "I have never seen anything like this. When things started to go south in the stock market, then the vasectomy consults went north." The folks over at vasectomy.com no doubt were pleased for snagging that most awesome domain name. Little did they know a bad economy would provide their payday; the number of appointment requests through their site spiked 30 percent in January.

It's not just men who are suddenly concerned about their family's future. Consumers are spending more money on all types of contraceptives, according to the Nielson Company. Indeed, the embrace of family planning appears to be a critical step in financial planning. Nielson said sales of over-the-counter contraceptives jumped a dazzling 10.2 percent in the first two months of the year. The company reports that, while other retail sales slip, condom sales jumped up 5% in the fourth quarter of 2008 and 6% in January, compared with the same time periods last year. Sales of Essure, a non-invasive, irreversible birth control method for women were up also, 28% over last year's sales.

Vasectomies are a relatively inexpensive, quick and non-invasive (as in surgical) way to prevent pregnancy. Much easier than sterilizing women, and almost as fail-safe.

Might as well take precautions.

If you're too broke to go out, and your cable gets cut off, there's not much else to do, now is there?

Comments

[MJM]

An article appeared in the Globe today about a breast cancer survivor who went to the US for surgery. Apparently, surgery is available there that would allow the nipple to remain in a reconstructed breast, but this is not presented as an option in Canada. I'd love your thoughts on this.