etc...

YES, I'LL AGREE TO a pay cut

Tax breaks for the rich: That's the usual argument offered by opponents of President Bush's economic strategy. Perhaps he'd get further in Congress with his legislative goals if he were the leader of Sweden. From Stockholm comes word that at least three senior corporate executives owed more to the government last year than they made in salary. Take Ivar Stromberg, president of Song Networks, a telephone company. His earnings in 2000: $194,800. Now for his tax: $233,760.

Then there's neighboring Finland, where traffic fines are pegged to the offender's income - with no cap. Until last week, the record for a single speeding ticket was $70,600, paid by onetime dotcom millionaire Jaako Rytsola (who later was refunded most of it because his income had dropped). But now there's a new champ, Anssi Vanjoki. He was caught in Helsinki doing 47 m.p.h. in a 30 m.p.h. zone on his motorcycle. Vanjoki, a member of the board of Nokia, the cellphone giant, owes a whopping $103,500. But he, too, says he'll appeal on the same grounds.

Jacob and Emily pushed past the previous year's favorites, Michael and Hannah, as the top choices for baby names in the US in 2001, according to an annual tally by the website Baby Center.com. Some parents surveyed said "individuality" was what they most wanted a child's name to convey. To achieve that, many are turning to family, traditional, or even old-fashioned names. BabyCenter.com's most popular names for 2001:

Girls Boys

1. Emily Jacob

2. Hannah Michael

3. Kaitlyn Nicholas

4. Madison Matthew

5. Sarah Joshua

6. Hailey Andrew

7. Ashley Joseph

8. Brianna Christopher

9. Samantha Anthony

10. Jasmine Dylan