We are worth less now

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jul 17, 2008 | by editorial

AN AMERICAN life just isn't worth what it used to be. At least that is according to a study the Environmental Protection Agency performs called the "value of a statistical life?" This study asserts that an American life is worth $6.9 million, nearly $1 million less than it was just five years ago.

This might seem a little daunting and even esoteric. Why should we care what the EPA thinks life is worth? Actually, it is very important and how the EPA arrives at this figure can make a huge difference in many lives.

The Associated Press worked out a scenario how this can play in normal lives. Say there's a regulation that costs $18 billion to enforce, but will prevent 2,500 deaths. At $7.8 million per person, which was the figure five years ago, the lifesaving benefits outweigh the costs. Now use the current figure of $6.9 million, and the rule costs more than the lives it saves. In this case, the odds are that the rule is never implemented.

Coincidentally, this updated number comes at a time when the EPA is caught between calls for stronger emission regulations and a resistant president in the White House. Such a calculation could give the EPA more reason to resist regulations.

However, the EPA figure is not even based on what people earn or potential contributions to family, friends and society. Instead, it is based on what people are willing to pay to avoid certain risks.

Most of the data come from payroll statistics or opinion surveys. Yet, the EPA ignores the census that shows the death rate is dropping, and that we're surviving many diseases that were once considered terminal. The Department of Transportation has twice raised its life-value figure while the EPA drops its price tag.

It appears we're not talking science at all. The EPA is skewing the numbers to fit its needs and to rationalize why it picks and chooses what needs regulating and what doesn't. This is simply an awful way to operate.

The EPA should stop this kind of nonsense and use real data to determine what areas of society need regulating.