Did this week give you a Band-aid and send you home? Or did it keep you overnight for observation? Every week, we tally up
+$940: With the Affordable Care Act signed into law, we can now finally focus on how it will affect you. Higher taxes? Tax credits? More access to care? More equality? Oh, and haters? Obama says: bring it on.
+$61: Indeed, this was the week Congress decided to get things done: Tacked on the health bill was a huge overhaul of student loans. Pell grants will get more generous, and a government-sponsored direct lending program is expected to save taxpayers about $61 billion over the next decade. Talk about a no-brainer.
+$11: House rich, cash poor? No more: the Obama Administration plans a new program to cut mortgage payments for the jobless. As many as 11 million people could receive new help. What’s more, Bank of America will cut about 45,000 borrowers’ mortgages by an average of more than $62,000. Even struggling California is throwing in $10,000 for first-time home buyers.
-$123.30: Like most of us, you’ve probably heard a lot about Greece’s economic implosion and wondered, “What does it have to do with me?” Three reasons to worry. How do you say 'oy vey' in Greek?
-$10.80: Life doesn't get easier for the working girl. in China, for instance, female astronauts must be married with children. Back on earth, working moms can now worry that the nanny will inspire adultery in — no, not their husbands — their sons. Meanwhile, those husbands are more likely to be sexually harassed at the office than ever. Oh, now you're feeling down? Maybe the “bumkini” can lift your, um, spirits. (Just don't wear it to work, OK?)
+$56: So, dude, if cigarettes are, like, $5 a pack in California, how much would a pack of J's cost? Next November Californians will vote whether to legalize the sale and use of marijuana by adults over 21. This isn’t a battle of hippies vs. cops — 56% polled last year favored legalization (and taxation). Rock the toke!
This week’s total: +$933.90. Yes! Here’s to bankrolling some extravagant new hobby. Lawn bowling, anyone? Or maybe I'll just save that surplus so I can afford to go to the movies. Thanks a lot, James Cameron.
Were you blinded by the pyrotechnic explosion of your bracket? Glued to Congress' parliamentary proceedings? Find out what you missed last week, in This Week.
