Big Idea, Small Detail: Money, Health and Education

A few quick ways to deal with money, health and educational concerns.

From Reader's Digest

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	Big Idea	Small Detail
Money	"Our best economists are saying this is the time to do some deficit spending in a smart way," Van Jones (The Green Collar Economy) told Newsweek, arguing for clean energy and new jobs. "We just had a silly stimulus where we passed out checks to everyone, who went to Wal-Mart and bought flat-screen TVs that stimulated the economy of China."	The free lunch known as the 401(k) match-given to employees by 84 percent of U.S. companies—may slowly be disappearing. Benefits consultant Watson Wyatt Worldwide surveyed 248 employers and found that 2 percent had already reduced or eliminated the match. Another 4 percent said they will stop the match in the next year.
Health	Doctors may soon be able to diagnose disease from your breath and the air around your body, The Economist reports. (Dogs can already do this in some instances.) Using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, Philadelphia researcher Michelle Gallagher has discovered early basal cell carcinomas, and now a Polish scientist is cataloging these and other biomarkers and developing a device for a quick diagnosis in doctors' offices.	In other testing news, the FDA has approved the comprehensive xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel, reports the Wall Street Journal. Now doctors and hospitals can test more efficiently for a dozen cold and flu viruses ($300 to $400; covered by most insurance companies).
Education	Texas legislators have cleared the way for schools to teach—not preach—the Bible, especially how it has influenced art, literature, and history. By fall 2009, all Texas high schools must teach a Bible-based curriculum in English or social studies courses or in a separate elective. Since that state holds sway over many textbook publishers, look for the trend to spread nationwide.	Chuck Stetson, a venture capitalist, has already published The Bible and Its Influence, a textbook vetted by both the left and right as well as First Amendment scholars and liberal arts professors. Stetson aims to have the text in 80 percent of U.S. classrooms in eight to ten years.