Lockheed Martin, the nation's biggest government contractor, recently announced that its third-quarter profits topped $600 million. Let's assume the vast majority of that profit was earned on government contracts (a fair assumption since Lockheed receives more than two-thirds of its annual revenue directly from the government). Under our assumptions and extending out their quarterly profits - Lockheed will make about $2 billion in profit on government contracts this year. For perspective, that $2 billion is roughly equal to:

• The entire budget of the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LiHEAP)
• About half the budget of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) feeding program

Put it a different way- that profit pretty much matches up with the following program cuts that the President advocated in his FY2007 budget proposal:

• Cuts to the Community Development Fund beginning in FY2004
• 5-year cuts to the WIC program
• Aggregate of 5-year cuts to the Child Care and Development Block Grant and Housing for the Elderly

These are the President's priorities for the federal budget. Are they yours?