MalahatTwo7
07-11-2008, 01:11 PM
I would like to see how the calculation is done for this, because I am not sure how you can put a value on a life, except maybe in terms of how much time and expense was utilized in order to train someone. Say a Firefighter, police officer, soldier, laywer etc, where the required amount of training before and during is considerably more than your typical office clerk.
EPA: U.S. Life Worth $1M Less Than 5 Years Ago. Agency Calculates Value To Be $6.9 Million
POSTED: 4:32 pm EDT July 10, 2008
WASHINGTON -- It's not just the American dollar that's losing value. The folks at the Environmental Protection Agency have decided that an American life isn't worth what it used to be.
Nearly a million dollars less, if EPA calculations are to believed.
According to the agency, the "value of a statistical life" is $6.9 million in today's dollars, down from $7.8 million five years ago.
The figure is based on what people are willing to pay to avoid certain risks, and how much extra money employers pay their workers to take on additional risks.
It comes into play when government regulations are drawn up. Agencies weigh the costs versus the lifesaving benefits of a proposed rule.
That has some environmentalists accusing the Bush administration of playing politics to avoid tougher rules, something the EPA denies.
This isn't the first time the administration's value-of-life calculation has come under fire. In 2002, the EPA decided the value of elderly people was 38 percent less than that of people under 70. After the move became public, the agency reversed itself.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
EPA: U.S. Life Worth $1M Less Than 5 Years Ago. Agency Calculates Value To Be $6.9 Million
POSTED: 4:32 pm EDT July 10, 2008
WASHINGTON -- It's not just the American dollar that's losing value. The folks at the Environmental Protection Agency have decided that an American life isn't worth what it used to be.
Nearly a million dollars less, if EPA calculations are to believed.
According to the agency, the "value of a statistical life" is $6.9 million in today's dollars, down from $7.8 million five years ago.
The figure is based on what people are willing to pay to avoid certain risks, and how much extra money employers pay their workers to take on additional risks.
It comes into play when government regulations are drawn up. Agencies weigh the costs versus the lifesaving benefits of a proposed rule.
That has some environmentalists accusing the Bush administration of playing politics to avoid tougher rules, something the EPA denies.
This isn't the first time the administration's value-of-life calculation has come under fire. In 2002, the EPA decided the value of elderly people was 38 percent less than that of people under 70. After the move became public, the agency reversed itself.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press