After Congress struck an 11th hour deal last week to avert the first default in U.S. history, S&P still downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+. The downgrade sent financial markets on a wild rollercoaster ride this week, making this writer dizzy, frustrated and maybe even a little nauseous. And I'm not the only one. To put it mildly, Americans are frustrated. One single mom even attempted to fire Wall Street (see the video here). According to a new poll, for the first time ever, the majority of Americans think it may be time to clean house in Congress. (Didn't we just do that?)

What will our political leaders do? How will they rise to the occasion and respond to this crisis? "Supercommittees" to the rescue! Just in time too – There's anecdotal evidence that all of the political and economic tumult of the past few weeks may be negatively affecting Americans' sex lives. OK, that's going too far.

BenefitsPro takes a closer look at the GOP and Dem members of the supercommittee, in whose hands our economic fate and sex lives rest. As Washington Post blogger Eric Yoder points out, however, the supercommitee has a fairly thin record on federal employee issues. Darn! Then how will Congress address the major employment issues contributing to the economic meltdown of the past few years? I've got it – a supercommittee on jobs.

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Health care reform news this week

I hate Obamacare more than you hate Obamacare. Health care reform took center stage this week, as the GOP presidential candidates descended on Iowa. After months of focus on Mitt Romney's attempts to sort out his current stance on health reform from his record as Governor of Massachusetts, Tim Pawlenty's apparent reversal on health care is getting some press. Rick Santorum likens health care reform to heroin addiction, and Michele Bachman states that, aside from the economy and health reform, everything else is a "fringe issue." Oddly, the GOP leadership remains uncharacteristically silent on a controversial health care law provision that took effect last week requiring insurers to cover birth control without a copay.

Cost increases coming? A survey released this week suggests that health care professionals expect major cost increases due to health reform. A separate study finds that the government may have underestimated the costs PPACA's state-based health insurance exchanges by "hundreds of billions." It wasn't much of a surprise then, when it was announced that Massachusetts, often looked at as the model for the federal health law, has the highest health premiums in the nation.

Retirement news this week

401(k) jitters. This week's market volatility affected 401(k) plans, raising concern that already gun-shy investors will retreat en masse from the market. However, a newly released report by the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Rand Corp. suggests that fears over a retirement crisis may be overblown.

Taking aim at target date funds. The Wall Street Journal reports that some employers are "tweaking" or replacing their target-date mutual funds to help curtail the high costs often associated with the funds. Meanwhile, an analysis released Tuesday by the Financial Research Corporation finds that sponsors may be limiting their target date fund selection.

HR / Benefits news this week

Glimmer of hope for jobs. Amid a tumultuous week on Wall Street, the Labor Department announced Thursday that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits dipped below 400,000 for the first time since April. There are indications that men are experiencing job recovery at a greater rate than women, however. Despite the dip in jobless claims, American's outlook remains quite bleak. And it likely did not improve when the U.S. Postal Service announced yesterday that it is considering cutting 120,000 jobs. See CNN's interactive map for a state-by-state comparison of the jobs picture.

Bright future for voluntary products. According to a LIMRA study released this week, many U.S. employers are considering offering voluntary products to replace employer-paid benefits. According to Ron Neyer, the author of the report, "This study means that there is still quite an opportunity for financial advisors, agents and brokers to sell these voluntary benefits programs to employers."

This week's must-read stories from around the web:

401(k) Withdrawal mistakes to avoid (U.S. News and World Report)

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This week's most popular story on BenefitsPro:  Top 5 most expensive health care markets

Cool infographic:  Maternity leave policies around the world (NPR.org)

This week's BenefitsPro blog roll:

Standard and Poorer, by Denis Storey

Life outside exchanges, by Michael Gomes

Follow the official Twitter feed for 'This Week in Benefits': @BenefitsWeek

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