!= != != != != != != != != != != != != != !=

The NYT picks up on an AP story (Vereckey, “Frugal parents toss disposable training pants,” 29 Jul ’09):

This year, it seems, the sagging economy is may now be having an unexpected effect on methods and timing of [potty] training. Disposable diapers are not cheap (an average of 42 cents each); neither are training pants (68 cents a piece), which, while convenient, do not rise to the level of necessary. Sales of the latter are falling[....] Parents, it seems, are doing the math, and deciding that a few more accidents in cloth underwear is worth the money saved not buying the disposable kind.

So now we know how the economy is shaping potty-training now; the question is how will potty-training now express itself (e.g., shape the economy) decades from now?