Is Britney Spears' death wish really worth $120 million to the American economy? (Does a mortgage lender crap his pants?) That's what Portfolio claimed earlier this week, taking into account sales of her paparazzi photos, tabloid magazine revenue, perfume trafficking, endorsements, the spill-off that Kevin Federline is able to suck up in nightclub appearances, and that other career she has selling records and touring.

Photo agencies X17 and Splash News went on record to say Britney's pics account for 30 percent and 15 percent of their business, respectively.

Last year, says X17, they shoveled $2.5 million in Britney pics; $500k from those head-shaving shots alone. And while conversations we've had with competing agencies lend credibility to those figures for overall revenue, many are poking holes in claims from X17 that a single Britney shot can score upwards of $100,000.

"Nobody in the U.S. is really offering those prices," says one veteran paparazzi insider. "Britney covers don't sell as well as you think, and the [celebrity] weeklies know this, so they can't budget very large sums for these photos. Especially when they're splashed all over the blogs anyhow. They're pulling that number out of their ass."

It's also well rumored that X17 funds Britney's bank account (which continues to be juiced up with about $750k a month) in exchange for exclusive access, so it's in their best interest to boast about price tags.

Splash, meanwhile, said it made off with $200,000 from sales of Brit in a hot tub. But that's gross sales to all outlets, not to a single buyer.

Ben Bernanke isn't the only one who has to deal with inflation scares.