Some things are utterly impossible to put a price on. For example, regardless what’s offered, no rational person would ever sell their family. It’s also impossible to put a monetary value on good health — let alone human life. Even so, that didn’t stop Stanford economists from determining several years ago that the value of human life was roughly $129,000 — a finding which brings to mind Oscar Wilde’s observation that cynics know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
The bottom line: Ultimately, the price of everything is in the eye of the beholder. Whether it’s correct, however, is another matter altogether.
Photo Credit: The Honeybee
So beautifully expressed in so few words. Thank you for the reminder.
I guess I am overinsured then…
I love the ‘if correct’ part of the story. I have to definitely disagree with the 129k…
Good post. This is why it’s not always possible to really judge people for each and every financial decision they make.
“Whether its correct, however, is another matter altogether.”
As long as it’s correct to the beholder, what else matters?
Wouldn’t it matter to you if you are a passenger in a taxi and your driver happens to be an unemployed Stanford economist? I know I’d be a little bit nervous. 😉
If he were a taxi driver, he wouldn’t be unemployed. 😉
An economist taxi driver? Oh no…
“First, let’s assume there’s no traffic in our way…”
Very true! Some can justify spending a great deal of money on something.
Well Len, as long as my taxi driver drives me safely and efficiently to my destination and his fare meter is working properly, his status as an economist/philosopher/lawyer/ditch digger/etc has no meaning to me whatsoever. 🙂
I think they’re off by an order of magnitude, at least as defined by my life insurance broker.
I also think the price would vary depending on the age of that life too. Would you pay the same for a newborn vs grandma betty? Unbelievable that someone would actually put a figure down.
“[…] no rational person would ever sell their family.”
Sadly, this in fact still happens in the world when destitute families sell a daughter. When circumstances are desperate, it becomes easier to rationalize extreme behavior.
This, I think, is an argument for why there needs to be some level of unemployment benefits. Not an ideal solution, but it helps keep families, and by extension society from falling apart.
Agree about the unemployment benefits, DC. Although, I still think 99 weeks is at least 47 weeks too long. (But that’s a different topic altogether.)