Rivets,
"I am going to shoot on an assignment..they are barely accepting 8mp..and 6mp- is definitely not accepted. that says it all."
You are talking about professional publishing requirements here. If you are earning a living with your gear then that is a different story and cost can be justified as tools of the trade, written off over time.
A 16 megapixel Canon EOS 1DSmkII is getting close to $8,000 for the body alone.