@Kart, the point is that the player who goes for the 100 bonus will not be able to on the first turn, and it will thus get broken by myhandisonfire and not be completed.
Hawk, you're wrong. All players get 0 base income so they're forced to use the 5 they're given to start off with to take a bonus. It's only possible to take 2 territories using 5 armies, so players who start in the 1000 bonuses will not be able to complete them.