EPA says the value of an American life has decreased.
EPA says the value of an American life has decreased.
In May, the Environmental Protection Agency lowered its “value of a statistical life” measure to $6.9 million in today’s dollars, which is “a drop of nearly $1 million from just five years ago.” In other words, in the eyes of the EPA, the value of a human life has decreased. Here’s what the change means:
Though it may seem like a harmless bureaucratic recalculation, the devaluation has real consequences.
When drawing up regulations, government agencies put a value on human life and then weigh the costs versus the lifesaving benefits of a proposed rule. The less a life is worth to the government, the less the need for a regulation, such as tighter restrictions on pollution.
Critics say that the Bush administration is “changing the value to avoid tougher rules.” “It’s hard to imagine that it has other than a political motivation,” said former senior EPA official Dan Esty.
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I’m worth $6.9 million? Any chance I can cash out my statistical life worth right now? I’d be happy to sign a waiver to have the federal gov’t add me to their “Do Not Worry About” list.
Just saying . . .
July 11th, 2008 at 12:34 pmHeadline you will not see tomorrow morning in the mythically librul press: “Eight Years of Bush Has Devalued Human Life”.
July 11th, 2008 at 12:35 pmDid Stephan Johnson deregulate life now, too?
John McMental, according to this, is worth about 47 cents.
July 11th, 2008 at 12:36 pmHey – I posted this in the ThinkFast thread this morning…
July 11th, 2008 at 12:37 pmEh. It’s all in our heads. Quitcher whining, libs!!!
/snark
July 11th, 2008 at 12:40 pmunb @#5
yes you did! Coincidence? hmmmm….. :)
July 11th, 2008 at 12:43 pmDoes that value include an extra mental recession, free, if I order in the next ten minutes?
July 11th, 2008 at 12:47 pm5th Estate Says: yes you did! Coincidence? hmmmm….. :)
He even bolded the same paragraph… LOL
Oh well…
July 11th, 2008 at 12:47 pmI’ve always heard that life is cheap.
July 11th, 2008 at 12:50 pmare we surprised?
as far as cheney/bush and their enablers are concerned, our troops are expendable.
4100 x $6,900,000 = $28.3 billion
July 11th, 2008 at 12:59 pmSo?
Even with the value of our lives dropped to $6.9 million, I can’t believe it would have cost more than that to house Katrina victims whose lives were worth that in something other than toxic trailers.
I have long believed that to this administration, some lives are worth much more than others — and some lives aren’t worth squat to them.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:01 pmbut….but….but….
….I thought nothing was more valuable than a human life. Maybe they only meant Teri Schiavo.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:01 pmIf the statistical people had done the research and read the fine print then perhaps their lives would be worth more today, I have no sympathy…
/snark
July 11th, 2008 at 1:02 pmArn Gunnutes Says
July 11th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Bush, Rove and Cheney are worth about $.25 each.
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And that’s for the trace minerals in their bodies — yes?
July 11th, 2008 at 1:03 pm.
But did you know that our Rights, Freedoms and Liberties are dirt cheep…?
.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:04 pmEPA says the value of an American life has decreased.
Just another “success” in the whole litany of accomplishments by the worst president in US history……….
July 11th, 2008 at 1:16 pmSure, it’s only worth $6.9 million today, but that’s like $9.2 million in 2003 dollars!
Or do I have that backwards?
Ah, what does it matter? It’s all in my head anyway.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:23 pm…then should’nt the families of the vets coming home in flag-drapped boxes get at least that much?
July 11th, 2008 at 1:26 pmGOP life values:
Iraqi civilian? Ah, worth about -.245 cents.
Black person? Athlete or entertainer? = $1.45. Lazy welfare mother? = about -.5674 cents.
Arab: Depends if they’re from Saudi Arabia or Dubai. Let’s say 567 million per household. Sudan, Dafur? = -.5643 cents.
Democrat? $2. (they are good for bullying).
Angry white male dittohead? $4. (gotta have the flag sucking half wits to do your bidding).
July 11th, 2008 at 1:29 pmI feel so…………worthless.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:31 pmValue of life per Daryyl and Rogerze:
Depends on whether or not you’re a NASCAR or Wrastlin’ fan
July 11th, 2008 at 1:32 pmValue of life to DICK Cheney:
Don’t worry, he already owns your soul.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:33 pmValue of life to Little Georgie Bu$h:
He wouldn’t know, his daddy bought everything he ever had.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:33 pmI’m so sick of this petty legalistic sort of pseudo-justification – the sort of ‘well, we HAD an opinion from the Justice Department that said that this was legal …’ or ‘technically, he never said the threat was “immanent” so …’ or ‘when you calculate the costs based upon the EPA valuations, it wasn’t worth …’.
As if we should excuse them from responsibility because of their legalistic contortionism.
On the contrary, we KNOW who has screwed this country up, and all the cutsie calculations won’t EVER hold any water with me.
They can say all they want; we should never believe them again.
My question is: from 2001 to 2007, the Democrats basically stepped aside and let the Republicans have EVERYTHING they wanted. We were MISERABLE at obstructionism. So, when does the party LOUDY, CLEARLY, and IRREFUTABLY assign the blame on the Republicans? Where are the ads? It is time to air them, NOW! If we decided not to fight and to take important Constitutional procedures OFF THE TABLE so that it was clear which party bore the responsibility, when are we gonna make that case?
Given what we’ve had to put up with for the past 7 1/2 years, it better be as powerfully and vociferously made as possible, dangit!
July 11th, 2008 at 1:40 pmThe supercapitalists dream of acquiring total legal ownership of all the air and water on the planet. They claim they will have so much incentive to take care of their property, regulations will be unnecessary.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:48 pmThis is good information to know. Next time I try and sell Americans, I’ll be sure to do it in Euros.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:53 pmYeah, the republics keep lowering the value of everybody else by being worthless pieces of sh!t.
July 11th, 2008 at 2:00 pmI was taught, and I will always believe that a price cannot be fixed to a human life!
July 11th, 2008 at 2:04 pmhate_america Says:
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Wonderful reporting TP. I also heard Bush is trying to inslave black people again.
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You reek of troll
BTW, the only people who call Obama a messiah are Limbaugh and his ditto heads; which is understandable since his existence is dependent on complaining about liberals and convincing idiots like you to vote against your interest.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:22 pmSince Bush/Cheney seized the reins of power, the quality of an American life has certainly declined, drastically.
July 11th, 2008 at 8:57 pm