the Missoula-look

a dollar amount on a human life

Conventional wisdom says a value can’t be placed on a human life. However, I just learned in Labor Economics (ECON 323) that the free market places a value on a human life everyday. Allow me to allow you to indulge yourself.

Two basic assumptions to keep in mind are; workers prefer safe jobs and it is expensive to create safe work environments. Empirical evidence shows that a .001 increase in the probability of fatal injury increases annual earnings by $6,600. According to my text book, this allows us to calculate the “value of a statistical life.” These statistics put differently mean 1,000 workers would be willing to give up $6.6 million in annual earnings to save the life of the worker who would surely die.

A human life is worth $6.6 million. This can’t be argued because workers and firms come to agreements on wage and probability of death in a free market.

I love economics!

P.S. The dollar amounts are from 2002.

the juggernaut

The world still looks to the United States for leadership. American leadership is wanting, but it is still wanted. Our friends around the world do not want the United States to retreat. They want once again to be allied with the nation whose values, leadership, and strength have inspired the world for the last century.

-Hillary Clinton, Council on Foreign Relations, November 2007

I've always defended Hillary Clinton as the best Democratic candidate. I probably won't vote for her in the end, but if I was forced to choose between Edwards, Obama, or Clinton, I would choose Clinton every time.

She is the only one who understands the current international situation. She is the only one who understands the role that America should play in the international community. She is the only one who understands history well enough to say that American values, leadership, and strength have inspired the world for the last century and back it up.

I know a lot of people like to crack jokes like, "If George W. Bush gets elected I'm going to move to Canada!" America is bigger than one president, and if I ever hear somebody say they will move to Canada if Hillary gets elected, I'll jump on them the same way I jump on people who said what I just quoted.

burning ATM machines

Earlier this week, an angry crowd of Palestinians burned an ATM machine at a downtown branch of the Arab Bank in Gaza after they were told there were no shekels left.

-International Herald Tribune

I feel so sorry for the innocent Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip because they have been subjected to the incompetent rule of Hamas.

I wouldn't mind burning an ATM machine myself; sounds kind of fun, but it's not fun for them. I'm not sure what Hamas is trying to accomplish, but I wish the suffering would stop.

this post has a funny ending

Three Democrats tried to levy a war surtax to cover the costs of our ongoing presence in Iraq. According to the NYT, “…the effort seemed to fizzle as Democratic leaders reacted coolly to the ideas. Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California issued a statement opposing the war tax…”

Three Democratic Congressmen are the only ones who think we ought to pay for what we’re doing today? Have tax hikes become that unpopular?

Democrats won’t raise taxes, Republicans won’t cut spending, Dems wouldn’t want to cut taxes, and unfortunately our current President doesn’t have a problem with increased spending. These politicians need to get some basic economics going here and make some sort of compromise where the country ends up in the black. But then again, I’ve heard some economic Ph.D.s say that the US budget deficit is no problem at all, and neither is our trade deficit.

Hey, life is good though in America. I’m not seeing anybody complaining.

On a lighter note, I got some really good advice today. “Build your street cred with liberals by badmouthing a despised conservative—say, Ann Coulter or Pat Robertson. That way you’ll defy stereotypes and demonstrate that your allegiances are not blind.”