Nickels and Dimes - Speaking of courts "moving the line" for gays, word has reached us from the Great White North of a legal victory for gays seeking back pensions from the Canadian government. The WaPo's financial advisor reminds us that there can be no gay marriage benefits at the federal level, regardless of what the states (Massachusetts, Vermont or California) decide to do. As an aside, I once read an argument that gay couples aren't losing much by not gaining access to each other's Social Security benefits. The theory went that, since each party in the typical same-sex couple works throughout his lifetime, each has access to his own SSI, and the incremental benefit from a widowers' allowance is so small that we ain't missing much. Not the best argument contra gay marriage, but just a factoid to keep in mind.