Whether it's real estate prices, the American dollar, or our standing in the international community, there are so few facets of our lives that have not decreased in value in recent years. Today, the AP uncovered the government's periodic monetary valuation of our lives, and it's $900,000 lower than five years ago, down to $6.9 million. Yes, according to the EPA, that is the "value of a statistical life."

It almost seems vulgar, certainly uncomfortable, to put a price tag on your a life, but the fact that we're worth less now isn't only an indication of the total shit state of our economy. It also happens to reduce the enforcement of pollution regulations if your life isn't worth the cost of the clean up. If this sounds cold, that's because it is. In an hypothetical example given by the AP, say a regulation costs $18 billion to enforce and will prevent 2,500 deaths. At the old EPA figure of $7.8 million per person, the lifesaving benefits outweight the costs. At the new figure ... well, not so much.

Economists are calling shenanigans on the administration, saying it is just manipulating the data to reflect what it wants -- not having to pay to clean up the environment. Just as upsetting, our values dropped anyway by $650,000, due to the reducing value of the dollar. This is what you get when you elect oilmen into the government. Although if T. Boone Pickens is changing for the better, is there hope for Bush?

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Bush admin drops price of huma
written by Umlud, July 11, 2008

It seems to me that a bigger statement could be made about how the statistical life cost dropped from $8 million in 2000 (start of Bush term) $7.8-ish million (mid-2000) to $7.2-ish million (shortly after second election) to $6.9 million now. Interesting, isn't it, that the admin dropped it when it won elections in the past? I wonder what's driving this one... Perhaps setting up a January cost-hike palaver?

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