How much?

Photo by Nicole Douglass

This photo is taken from Donald Kettl's Politics of the Administrative Process. In case you are unable to read the underlined text, it says that in July of 2008, the United States  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) changed the value of a human life from $8.04 million to $7.22 million. That's a decrease of about 10 percent. 

The text goes on to provide a real-life example of flammable mattress. In once case, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found that necessary changes to production would cost the company $343 million dollars and would save about 270 people per year.  Using a numerical value of a human's life allowed the CPSC to vote in favor of enforcing the company to make the necessary changes.

We've been talking about how much it costs a person for healthcare. And according to this site, statistics in 2009 said that the average adult in the US spends $7,290 on healthcare a year. That site also says that the life expectancy in America is about 78 years. Quick math says, after turning 18, a "normal" adult in the United States will spend about $437,400 on healthcare. (I think it's safe to assume that number includes coverage provided by health insurance.)

In a weird way, I'm oddly touched that my government thinks my life is worth a lot more than what I'm expected to pay to have professional care for it. But on the other hand, $437,400 is a huge number! I can't fathom needing that much money to live. It seems ridiculous and I'm left wondering why?