420.7 billion dollars

[Griff]

$420,700,000,000

This is not the military budget of a nation that values peace. Some conservatives will say that is the price of peace, but I think we all know by now that that is bull.

[xoxoxoBruce]

A story in St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 04/07/05, "Boeing gets more mileage out of execs" about how Boeing Defense segment exectutives make much less money for their results than other contractors.

The thing that caught my eye was the following:

Total pay amounts include salary and bonus, restricted stock, long-term incentives, option awards and the value realized from option exercises. Another aspect of executive pay is the catchall "other" category, which includes the value of using company aircraft for personal trips, home security systems, car leasing, tax preparation and financial counseling.

As an example, Northrop Grumman's chairman and chief executive, Ronald D. Sugar, received $161,536 in "other" annual compensation in 2004. The breakdown looked like this in the company's proxy:

$30,171 to offset tax liabilities.

$20,126 for car allowance and expenses.

$6,161 for club membership dues.

$25,000 for tax-preparation services.

$52,008 for insurance premiums.

$24,247 for personal travel on company jets.

$2,799 for his wife's travel.

"Other" is the smallest compensation category for executives, but it still
amounted to $4.6 million in 2004 among the five defense contractors.

$25k for tax prep? Bet it ain't H&R Block.