5 ms·
> I don't like putting a dollar value on a human life In the US the value of a human life is about $10 million, or about $150k per QALY. Every single develope
by henrikschroder 6y ago
> I don't like putting a dollar value on a human life
In the US the value of a human life is about $10 million, or about $150k per QALY.
Every single developed nation has put a dollar value on human life, and continues to do so, because without it you can't possibly allocate scarce resources like healthcare to achieve the greatest good. It helps save more lives than the alternative strategy you propose, i.e. sticking your head in the sand to avoid thinking about it because it's unpleasant.
- jay_kyburz 6y agoI think there is a really giant leap between comparing an economists statistical value of a persons life, and some number that we guess might be the "damage to the economy". What I'm suggesting is that we make sure we have food security, make sure we can provide medial care to the best of our ability, then pay whatever it costs to save peoples lives. I would pay every sent I have to stay alive. I think most people would. I think the governments should take the same approach. And yes, sure, most of the time it's super hard to decide what to do, but for this virus, we know all you have to do it isolate from each other for a few months. It's not even that hard. --- As a side note I can't wait till somebody uses that 10m figure and applies it to deaths as a result of obesity. You think social isolation is hard, you should try giving up sugar, now that is hard!
- jay_kyburz 6y agoUpdate: I looked it up. According to Wikipedia, Obesity linked to "100,000–400,000 deaths in the United States per year" or at 10m a life 10-40 Trillion Dollars a year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_States